More Than Words
by choose joy xox
Summary: They say that blood is thicker than water, but was that really true? You don't get a say in who your family is, but you choose your friends. Spencer and Toby's relationship is stronger than ever, and they know that they can always depend on each other. What happens when that dependence puts the other in harms way? How do you forgive yourself? Spoby and Haleb. No A.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my new Spoby story, obviously! I hope you read, review, and enjoy it! A few things, if you've read my other stories you know I like writing angst and drama a lot more than I like writing fluff. Keep that in mind as you work your way through these first couple chapters. Also, if you haven't read my other stories go check them out! You're Everything and Landslide. I think they're pretty okay!**

**Okay so this story is slightly AU-ish. There was no A or Alison. It was always just the four girls. Also, everything about Toby remains true, except Jenna was never an overly hormonal freak. **

**FINALLY, you should be prepared that this story deals with a couple pretty heavy issues. I don't go too deep into any of them, but they are obviously there. If you're like under 13 or really sensitive just prepare yourself. **

**Oh, one more finally. I plan on updating this story roughly twice a week, not counting this update. I'm going to say Mondays and Thursdays right now, but sometimes I get excited and post early. I don't want to require a review limit before an update, but if I find I'm not getting any reviews I will implement one.**

**OKAY, happy reading!**

Prologue

They say that blood is thicker than water, but they didn't really believe that was true. You don't get a say in who your family is, but you choose your friends. You choose the people that you want to spend your life with.

Sometimes your family isn't who you need them to be, and at that moment your friends become the ones you lean on. But what if leaning on your friends were to put them in harms way? What if they got hurt and it was all your fault. How do you go on from there?

Chapter 1

SPOV

Spencer glanced at the chalkboard in her Russian History classroom as she feverishly tried to take down all of the information on the Bolsheviks. Most people would be annoyed at the forced learning on the first day back from a long summer break, but Spencer was actually quite thrilled. She had always enjoyed the first day of school. All summer long she dreamed of cracking open her new school supplies and hitting the books.

As she was writing down the last word the bell rang. The buzzing was met by cheers from most people, but instead of joy Spencer felt a pang of dread in her chest. She didn't want to go home.

"Spence, why do you look like someone ripped the pages out of your text books?"

Some of the dread was alleviated by the voice of her tiny best friend. She was so used to having AP classes alone that she forgot that Aria was in Russian History with her. "I'm hungry!" The lie made her feel a bit guilty, but it was better than telling her the truth. She didn't need to burden Aria with her issues. "Hey, are you going to Hanna's?"

Aria ran a hand through her shoulder length brunette hair and shook her head no. "I'm going to go see Ezra," she murmured in a voice that only Spencer could hear.

Spencer loved Aria, but she sometimes questioned her judgment. The girl was smart; how did she possibly believe that being in a relationship with her teacher was an appropriate action to take? But it didn't matter what she thought. Sometimes the heart decided for you. "For a hot English teacher press 1," she laughed in a deeper voice than usual.

Aria shoved her shoulder slightly with a giggle before heading off in the proper direction of her locker. H and M were so close together in the alphabet, yet their lockers were so far apart. Spencer slung her bag back over her shoulder and made her way to her locker. She needed to fetch her AP English book before hunting down her boyfriend, who had driven her to school.

A rough hand lightly trailed its way down her arm before coming in contact with her hand. She didn't even have to look up to know that it was Toby. A small smile stretched across her lips as she looked up at his face. His eyes were trained on their hands as he slowly laced their fingers together. "How was your day?" She asked him softly.

He used his other hand to push a chunk of her curly brown hair behind her ear. Instead of removing his hand he put it on her cheek and lightly stroked it with his calloused thumb. "It's a lot better now. How are you?"

Reluctantly she turned away from him and began digging through her locker for the books she needed to take home with her. "I'm alright. Do you want to come to Hanna's to hang out? I think Caleb will be there too."

Toby leaned in to press a quick kiss to her forehead before nodding. "Of course. Are you ready to go?"

She tried to sling her messenger bag over her shoulder, but Toby grabbed it from her and placed it over his own. Usually she didn't go for the caveman act, but with Toby it was different. He didn't try to do things like that because he thought that she was incapable. He did it because he loved her. Emily had once asked her how she knew that he loved her, and it really made her think. The question wasn't an easy one to answer. She knew that he loved her because he showed her every single time they were together. From the way that he looked at her to the way that he treated her. Theirs was a relationship that would last. She had never been so certain of anything.

"I am," she smiled and grabbed his hand again as they walked off to his truck.

The drive to Hanna's house was a short one. They could have easily walked, but it seemed pointless to leave Toby's truck at school only to walk back. In an ironic sense of timing they pulled up in front of Hanna's house just as she and Caleb had arrived.

Hanna jumped out of the car and excitedly waved at Toby and Spencer in the truck. "Hey bitches!"

Toby furrowed his brow and leaned in to place a gentle kiss to her neck. "She knows that bitches isn't a term of endearment, right?"

As his lips made contact with her neck shivers erupted throughout her entire body. She had never realized how good someone could make her feel until she met Toby. "You never know with Hanna. One day she's calling you love or sweetie and the next she's calling you bitch or asshole. But she says it in love."

After stretching to give him a quick kiss she slid out of the car and walked over to hug Hanna. "Missed you, bitch."

Hanna laughed and shoved her away. "No. No way Spence. It doesn't work on you. You're one of those people that just sound really wrong when they cuss."

"Well that's unfortunate," she laughed and linked her arm with Hanna's. "So, what do you have planned for us, my dear?"

Spencer could hear the guys conversing behind her, but she was too busy conversing with Hanna to spy on their bromance. Caleb and Toby were a little bit adorable when they hung out together.

There was a certain chill in the air that made a fire sound very appealing. "As long as you aren't the one starting it I'm fine with that."

Toby slipped around them to hold Hanna's front door open for the girls. She paused and ran her hand down his arm as she walked by. "You know, you make it really hard to be a modern post-feminist when you go all alpha male on me," the teasing tone of her voice was more than evident.

As her hand reached the end of his arm he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to her. "Why, do you want me to stop?"

They were blocking the door for Hanna and Caleb, but she didn't care. "No," she laughed and leaned up to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

"What do you mean you don't trust me to light a fire?!"

Hanna's voice interrupted their moment, but it was so innocently that it didn't even matter to her. A long snort escaped her nose while her lips were still attached to Toby's. He laughed and pulled away, "Well that was an odd feeling."

She quickly squeezed his hand before pulling away and giving Hanna an incredulous look. "Are you kidding? Did you forget about the time you almost burnt down my barn?"

"Oh my God! That was just one time!" Hanna looked genuinely offended, and the seriousness of her face made Spencer laugh again.

Caleb smiled and grabbed the lighter off of the table. "Alright Spencer, Toby and I will do the man's work and light the fire. You girls go to the kitchen and get the food."

His joking smile was the only thing that helped her not to give him a lecture on the dangers of sexist comments like that. That was Caleb for you. Getting away with anything and everything when he flashed that cute smile at you.

Hanna started walking toward the kitchen and Spencer followed immediately after her. "I thought you and carbs weren't friends anymore Han?"

"Carbs and I are always friends, we just had a temporary breakup. They're the most delicious things in the entire world."

No denying that. Carbs made the world go around. They gathered the necessary s'more supplies before heading back out to Hanna's backyard. The boys had managed to get a decent sized fire going in their absence. That was fortunate, because it was freezing.

Spencer placed the chocolate and marshmallows she was carrying on the picnic table before going to Toby and wrapping her arms around him. He responded immediately by pulling her thin frame tightly to him. "Are you cold?" He asked her softly.

She nodded, "A little, but the fire helps."

As soon as she nodded he released her so that he could pull of his faded leather jacket. He wrapped it around her shoulders and pulled her back to him. "Better?"

It totally was, but she didn't want him to get cold either. "Are you sure? You might need it."

He pressed his lips to her hair. She felt him shake his head. "All I need is you to feel warm, okay?"

She smiled and pulled away. "What I really need is some sugary deliciousness."

The evening at Hanna's house was spent by consuming way too much sugar, cuddling by the fire, and just all together enjoying each other's company. There was nothing better than spending time with your best friends.

All too soon Spencer glanced down at her watch and noticed the time. Her heart dropped a bit when she realized the time. "I hate to break this up, but I need to get going. I told my dad I'd be home a half hour ago."

Hanna groaned and threw a half eaten marshmallow at her from her spot on the ground. "It disappoints me how lame you've gotten," she teased before flipping back on the ground and staring upward at the stars.

Toby had stood up and gathered their things as soon as she said that she had to leave. He was always the perfect gentlemen. She could tell he wanted to stay though. "Toby I can walk home if you aren't ready to leave yet."

"Yeah Spence. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to let you walk home alone in the cold and dark," he said sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, but before they could leave Hanna sat back up. "Hey, you guys are going to Bridget Wu's party tomorrow, right?"

Toby glanced down at her before looking back at Hanna. "Yeah, I think so."

Hanna nodded happily and leaned back down, cuddling into Caleb's side. Those two were too cute for words.

Toby and Spencer walked out his truck together. He paused and pulled open Spencer's door for her, and once she climbed in he firmly shut it behind her. Someone had obviously been working on his gentlemenly tendencies. But she barely had time to appreciate it, because she was so nervous about getting home. Her dad wasn't going to be happy.

"Spence, are you alright?"

Worry was hard to hide sometimes. She turned to him and nodded before staring out the window. As soon as she looked away he reached over and lightly put his hand on her thigh. She felt some of the tension leave her body, but not completely. It was uncharacteristically cold for early September. But that didn't really bother her. Fall was always her favorite time of year.

The truck pulled up in front of the Hastings house. Toby turned the car off and scooted closer to her. "Hey, seriously are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she gave him a tight smile and reached for the door handle.

"No you don't," he laughed and grabbed her wrist. She didn't quite understand what he wanted until he released her wrist and put his hand on the back of her head. He drew Spencer in and pressed their lips together in a soft kiss. Spencer couldn't help but smile as their lips connected. Toby pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers. "Love you," he whispered.

Her smile grew as she looked in his eyes. Somehow Toby made everything better. "I love you too."

After a moment of hesitation she pulled away from him and slid out of the car.

"I'll pick you up at 8 tomorrow for Bridget's party, okay?"

She smiled and nodded reaching out to touch his hand before shutting the door and walking to the house. As she reached the kitchen door and turned and gave Toby one more smile. She loved how he always waited to make sure that she was safe and inside before pulling off. The door opened easily, and she slid inside, hoping that he father was busy and wouldn't notice how late she was.

"Did you forget how to tell time, or did you just not care?"

Her body tensed as she slowly turned around. "Dad, where's mom?" She tried to keep any emotion out of her voice, so she hoped that he wouldn't notice how much she hoped that her mom was here.

"Still in D.C. She won't be back until Monday. Back to the original question. Why are you late?" He took a step forward, and she took one back in response.

"I'm sorry, I was with Hanna and I just lost track of time," she bit her lip and looked down at the ground. Maybe he would just let her go to bed.

He laughed and took another step forward. "Yeah, and your piece of trash boyfriend too, I'm sure."

Literally everything in her called out to defend Toby, but that would be counterproductive right now. If she wanted to just go to bed being defiant wasn't going to work. "Toby was there too," she admitted in a soft voice.

An annoyed sigh escaped his throat and he turned around and walked to the fridge. "I suppose your story is acceptable. Just go to bed. I have a lot of work to do, and I can't have you distracting me."

Spencer nodded and turned, walking up the stairs as fast as she can. She walked into her room and shut the door behind her. Her back leaned against the door and leaned against the door. She slid down the door and wrapped her arms around her legs. This needs to stop. She can't keep living like this. This time it worked out alright, but this constant fear needed to stop.

She eyed her phone and considered calling Toby or one of her friends, but they would hear the distress in her voice. They would want to help her, but she didn't want to get anyone else involved. She turned her phone off and laid down in her bed, counting down the hours until she could leave this house again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, my first chapter didn't get a huge response, but that's fine! I hope that it gets better now that the drama is picking up.**

**Thanks so much to lola for getting me my first review for this story! And it was a great review too! Also, thanks everyone for all of the favorites and the follows!**

**I thought I'd post one more quick update to give you a taste of where this story is going. You can expect the next chapter early this week!**

**Review and let me know what you think!**

Chapter 2

SPOV

After a less than stellar afternoon Spencer was thrilled when Toby showed up to pick her up for the party at Bridget's house. She wasn't exactly a regular at these parties, but she thought that it would be a good way to kick of her Senior year and a fun time to spend with her friends.

She stared out the window as they drove through Rosewood. Many people might mistake her silence for sadness, but that wasn't the case. Her silence indicated a deep sense of contentment. Contentment that she only felt when she was near Toby. He had such an instantaneous calming affect on her that it was mildly amusing. Many people would call her high strung, and she wouldn't necessarily disagree with them. But when she was with Toby she felt nothing but tranquility.

Toby glanced over at her as they pulled up in front of the house. He knew her too well, and that she enjoyed just sitting and thinking when she was in a car. "So how was your afternoon?"

"I basically sat around and studied all day. I was trying to get ahead in Russian History because we have a huge paper due in a few weeks, and I want to get it done way ahead of time," she laughed, knowing that he was internally judging her for being a nerd. And that was okay because she had accepted her nerd status a really long time ago.

He laughed and helped her out of the truck. "You're such a cute little nerd."

Her right arm wrapped around him as she leaned against his side. If she had to socialize with people that she didn't like all that much she was glad that Toby was there with her. He was always so warm and secure that she couldn't help but have a better outlook on life when he was around. "What about you? How was your afternoon?"

As the entered into the house the pounding music made Toby a bit more difficult to hear, but that was fine. She could just lean in closer to him. He bent down so that his lips were close to her ear. As his hot breath hit her exposed neck goosebumps erupted along her skin. "I found a pattern online for a cabinet. Jenna's mom really liked it, so I spent some time making it for her."

Toby's mom had died two years ago, and his dad apparently was one of those people who couldn't handle being single; because he got together with his new wife mere months after the passing of Marion Cavanaugh. It was rather scandalous, and to her chagrin she remembered gossiping about it with her friends before Toby and her had gotten together. The fact that he was making it for her was rather significant. Toby was unfailingly kind, but he had not always gotten along with his new step mother. This indicated a new level of acceptance. "That's so great! I'm sure she'll love it."

Before Toby had a chance to respond to her they were cut off by a loud screeching noise. The fact that it was loud was impressive, because not much could be heard over the pulsing music. "SPENCER! Toby! You guys actually came!" She was ripped from Toby's side and his arm was replaced by both of Hanna's.

She laughed and hugged her friend back. "We told you that we were coming, Han!"

"Yeah, but you said it reluctantly!" Hanna pulled on her arm and directed her toward the drinks. She paused and glanced over her shoulder. "Amuse yourselves boys. We're going to mingle."

Spencer glanced back to see Caleb and Toby conversing and laughing together. She couldn't help but smile to herself. A Caleb and Toby bromance was probably one of her favorite things ever. "Spencer!"

She smiled and let go of Hanna to quickly hug her other friend. "Emily! How was work? Did you sell lots of coffee?"

"You keep talking about coffee like that Spence and people are going to think you've started an inappropriate relationship. I can just see it know. You'll update your Facebook status that you're in an open relationship with coffee!" Aria laughed and came up in between Hanna and Emily.

Hanna giggled at Aria's words and flounced off to the drink table. Emily glanced at Aria and then back at Spencer. "I don't know how Toby would feel about that!"

"How Toby would feel about what?" asked the deep voice of her boyfriend as he came up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his chin on the top of her head.

Spencer gave her friends a warning look. But of course they didn't listen. She really needed to get in the market for some new friends. Friends since birth didn't respond as well to threatening glares. They knew that you were all talk.

Emily decided to be the one to answer Toby's question. "We were just talking about Spencer's illicit affair with coffee."

Actually, why was she embarrassed about this? She was fairly confident that there wasn't a single person in the world that didn't know of her fanaticism about coffee. Caffeine makes the world go around.

She felt Toby's head bounce against hers as he nodded. "Ah, yes. I know I will always be second best, but strangely I'm alright with that."

Just as Spencer was about to ask Toby to come dance with her Hanna came back and shoved two jello shots into her hand. "Um Han, I don't really..."

"No!" Hanna cut her off with a glare. "Aria can't drink because she drove, and Emily won't drink because it's swim season. Your big, muscle man drove you here so that's not an excuse. And field hockey hasn't started yet! Take the shots, woman!"

She hesitated before shrugging. Just how much alcohol could be in these things anyway? Spencer tilted her head back so that she was leaning deeper into Toby's chest and downed each shot. The warming affect was nice and she grabbed one more from Hanna. After taking her last shot she felt a little more giggly than usual.

Toby leaned his head down to mutter into her ear, "Do you want to dance?"

She turned around with a smile. Of course she did, but she was surprised that he wanted too. Most of the time she had to beg him to dance with her. She suspected that he just liked to see her argue with him, but either way it was very unusual for him to be the one to suggest dancing. "Why are you being weird?" she giggled, but grabbed his hand anyway and led him to the dance floor.

It was a slow song so they wrapped their arms around each other and she lightly pressed her head to his chest. The way that Toby made her feel was nearly indescribable. In her family she was at best a nuisance, and at worst... she didn't even want to think about that. But Toby treated her with such love and care. It was such a stark contrast between the way that she was used to being treated.

"What are you talking about?" he asked in an amused voice. He put a hand on the back of her head to draw her in closer as their hips swayed back and forth.

She giggled again and lifted her chin so that it was resting on his shoulder. "Usually you hate dancing!"

"No, I just like seeing you get worked up. But today you seem tense, so I decided to give you a break." He laughed and leaned in to kiss her.

"That's why you always cheat when we play Scrabble too," she teased. She knew that he didn't cheat, but she also appreciated seeing Toby get worked up. He had this tendency to roll his hands through his hair and his cheeks turned a delicious shade of red. She had always enjoyed playful banter, and Toby was one of the few people in the world who could keep up with her.

He gently pushed her backwards and clasped each of her shoulders in his hands. A playful smile stretched across his face. "You just don't appreciate your ass getting kicked by words like goofball." He leaned back forward and planted a light kiss on her nose.

He was definitely right, but there was no way in the world that she was going to admit that. Words like connoisseur and acetylsalicylic should not be getting beaten by words like goofball. "Scrabble is my game! I will regain my title one day!" She leaned up to kiss him one last time before walking off the dance floor in search of her friends.

* * *

Numerous jello shots, dancing with her friends and with Toby, and conversations with half of her classmates later the party was winding down. Spencer carefully made her way through the living room, dodging crushed solo cups, beer cans, and passed out teenagers. She had had her fair share of drinks so her walk was a bit shaky, but she was able to maneuver her way to Toby with little trouble. Ironically, as soon as she reached Toby stumbled into him.

He laughed and caught her, keeping his arms around her until she was able to steady herself. "How much did you have to drink Spence?"

"Those little jello things are just so delicious!" She giggled and leaned up to kiss him. For an unknown reason, copious amounts of alcohol made her act overly sexual, and she just wanted to touch people. She ran her fingers down Toby's chest and she smiled as she watched the progress of her hand.

Toby laughed and grabbed both of her hands. He held tightly onto her hands and directed her out the front door and to his truck. While they were inside it had started to rain, so Toby help her close so that he could attempt to protect her from the rain. "Those little jello things?" he teased and helped her into the front seat of his truck. They had a near disaster moment as her foot caught on the door, but Toby managed to catch her before she face planted on the cement.

"You're such a graceful drunk, Spence," he said after he had climbed into his side of the truck and pulled away from the curb. Toby had ensured that the rain didn't drench her, but her damp hair was enough to make her shiver slightly. Of course Toby noticed and immediately reached to turn up the heat.

She giggled again and leaned her head against the cool window. Why was she giggling so much? Nothing was all that funny. But she couldn't stop. "I think I caught the giggle bug," she said seriously before punctuating it with another giggle.

Toby flipped on the blinker and pulled off in front of Spencer's house. He leaned in to kiss her forehead. "That sounds serious, what can I do to help?"

She smiled and twisted so that she could reach his lips. "On a slightly related note, come to Philly with me tomorrow? It's stupid family night, but Melissa is bringing Wren. And I don't think I can deal with their crazy alone. Especially since mom will have just gotten back from her business trip and will want to be all talkative and maternal."

"You had me at come to Philly," he said softly. His hand ran along her jawline, down her neck, and then down her arm before coming into contact with her hand. "What time should I come by?"

His touch completely tore any coherent thoughts from her mind. "Umm... 4."

He chucked and kissed her forehead one last time. "You better go inside before you dad comes out and tries to slash my tires." He paused before continuing. "Do you need me to walk you in, or do you think you have it?"

Oh, good idea. She had a car, but Toby drove them everywhere. It would be a sad day if his truck was out of commission. "I think I can manage. Love you!" She cheerfully kissed him before sliding out of the car and walking up to her front door. She managed to avoid tripped as she walked up the lawn. A quick glance at her watch told her that it was midnight, so she was as quiet as she could be. She quietly pulled the door open and shut it behind her.

A scan of the kitchen showed her that she was alone and her heart jumped in relief. She slipped her shoes off so that her footsteps were muted and tip toed into the living room.

"You better have a great excuse as to why you're coming into my house at this late at night," Mr. Hastings said in a dangerous whisper, as he pulled himself into a sitting position from the living room couch. Spencer glanced at the coffee table and saw that he was doing some paperwork.

"I- I um was at a party," she stuttered. Her inebriated state was making it more difficult for her to formulate an intelligent thought or an appropriate lie.

Mr. Hastings stood up and walked next to her. He stood in front of her for a moment before a cloud of rage colored his face. His hand reached out and grabbed her wrist in his ironclad grip. The fingers on his hand dug into her wrist to the point that she was sure that bruises would appear there later. "Spencer Jill Hastings, are you drunk?"

She wasn't acting drunk, which led her to believe that he could smell the alcohol on her breath. Lying was pointless, and it would probably just enrage him further. Even though she knew that she couldn't bring herself to respond to him. His grip on her wrist tightened infinitesimally causing her to gasp in pain. "Dad, you're hurting me."

"Tell me the truth," he snapped, twisting her arm slightly.

"I-" she started, but she bit her lip, cutting herself off. "I'm sorry," she whispered. It was pointless to answer his question because he already knew the truth. An apology was the only thing that might calm him down.

He released her wrist. Her body relaxed in relief as she thought for a moment that he was going to let her go. Seconds later his hand reached out and smacked her hard across her face. The alcohol had already thrown off her balance so that, combined with the force from her father's hand, caused her to fall hard to the ground.

"You're a sorry excuse for a human being," he snapped. He reached down to grab her already bruised arm to easily haul her up to her feet.

Spencer stood her ground, refusing to play scared even though she was terrified. She had thought that her dad was going to hit her before, but he had never actually done so.

His hand squeezed her wrist more tightly than before which caused tears of pain to prick the corner of her eyes. Just when she thought that she couldn't take it any more he gave her a disgusted look before releasing her wrist and walking away. As soon as he was out the living room door and into his study she slid down the wall and pulled her legs to her chest. She buried her face in her knees and tried to wait for the throbbing in her face and wrist to pass before she did anything.

What was she supposed to do from here? Could she really stay here with him so angry? Before she even realized what she was doing she stood up and walked out the door. She only paused to slip on a pair of flip flops at the door; she didn't even bothering to grab a jacket. All she could think about was getting out of the house.

The rain hadn't stopped, so she was violently shivering. But she couldn't bring herself to go back in the house. Her feet took her through the streets of Rosewood without really thinking about or noticing where she was going. That's why she was shocked when she looked up and found herself standing outside of Toby's loft.

Apparently her heart knew what she needed even when she wasn't thinking straight. But should she go up there? Should she put him in the middle of her family drama? It's not like her dad constantly beat her. A small slap wasn't a big deal. And there was absolutely no way that she was going to be able to hide this from him. She could already see the bruises forming on her wrist, and the heat on her cheek made her reasonably confident that there was a mark on her face also. And furthermore, showing up at his loft at 1 am was going to scare him even if she wasn't hurt.

But she couldn't bring herself to care right now. She needed him, and that wasn't something that she would admit to herself very often. She didn't like needing anyone, but under the circumstances it was totally reasonable. As she walked up the backstairs to his door she smoothed her drenched hair over her cheek and adjusted her thin shirt. She tried to calm down her shivering, but it wasn't happening. Her body would be warm soon and that was all that mattered.

Her hand reached up and she tentatively knocked on the door. Maybe he wouldn't wake up and she won't have to think of how to explain things to him. She honestly couldn't decide what she wanted more, but she knew that there was no turning back now. Her stomach twisted in nerves as she heard movement inside.

When he opened the door she was momentarily distracted by his shirtless state, but that didn't last long. She looked nervously up at him through her lashes and waited for his reaction.

His face was etched with confusion and concern. "Spencer?"

The confusion quickly evaporated as he grabbed her upper arm and pulled her into the loft and away from the rain. When he realized how cold she was he slid his hand down her arm and grabbed her hand to lead her to the bathroom. "Take a shower. I'll find you something to wear."

She sighed in relief as she slid into the bathroom without him noticing anything amiss. She sighed in relief and began stripping off the soaking wet clothes. She put them in the sink so that they didn't damage his floor.

"Once I hear the water going I'll set some clothes in here for you, okay? When you're done we'll talk."

"Okay," Spencer whispered through the door and climbed into the shower. She heard Toby come in and put some clothes on the toilet for her. After he had walked out she peaked into the bathroom and saw that he took her wet clothes also. He was the sweetest person alive. As she turned the water off her stomach began to twist in nerves again. What was she going to tell him?

She pulled on his shirt and smiled a little at how big it was. She had to roll up the legs of his sweats several times so that she wasn't walking on the edges of them. A quick glance in the mirror showed a large, hand print shaped bruise forming on her face. Great. There was no way he wasn't going to notice that. She finger brushed her hair and made sure that it covered her cheek. Maybe she would be able to delay the moment that he noticed.

As soon as she pushed open the Toby, who was waiting for her in the hallway, stood up. He put his hand on her back and lead her in the direction of the living room. Once they were settled he gently grasped both of her hands, rubbing soothing circles on the back of each with his thumbs. "Spencer, what's going on?"

"I-" she started but immediately snapped her mouth shut. How was she going to explain this without making it sound worse than it was? Maybe she shouldn't have come here. Her dad just lost his temper, and it was mostly her fault. She shouldn't have drank so much. Maybe she just should have gone to her room and locked her door.

Before she had a chance to continue Toby glanced down at their hands, and caught sight of her bruised wrist. He gently ran his fingers over what was obviously a hand shaped bruise. "Spencer..."

He looked up at her face in shock. His hand reached out to touch her cheek, but as soon as he made contact with the swollen bruise she hissed and flinched away. Without waiting for permission he avoided her cheek and pushed her hair back so that he could see.

Spencer watched as his eyes darkened. He lifted the hand that that was still attached to hers and pressed his lips to her knuckles. It wasn't hard to tell that he was trying to calm himself down before talking. "Who did this, Spencer?"

She bit her lip and looked down at the couch, but that only lasted a moment before Toby lightly lifted her chin so that he could see her. She thought he'd be mostly angry, but more than that she saw concern. "I don't want to talk about it," she whispered as she averted her gaze.

"Spencer," he pressed. He truly wasn't going to let this go.

She needed to deflect because she certainly wasn't going to bring him into the middle of all of this. "Can you get me some water?" She asked him softly.

His hand lightly rubbed up and down her arm and his eyes followed the progress. His pained eyes lifted to meet hers, and he nodded reluctantly. "I'll get some ice too. Your wrist looks a little swollen."

His lips found her forehead and lingered there for a moment before stalking off into the kitchen. As soon as he was out of site she curled up on the end of the couch and closed her eyes. This day had gone from wonderful to one of the most stressful of her life. She wasn't used to not having the answer, but right now she didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to handle this. Was this a sign of things to come, or was it truly a one time thing? She would just be on her best behavior as to not give her father any reason to get angry with her.

The couch shift as Toby sat back down. "Spence?" He asked as he ran his fingers through her hair. His slow and gentle movements were such a stark contrast between her father's earlier harsh and painful ones that it brought tears to her eyes. Toby didn't notice the sure sign that she was awake because he was focused on kissing the top of her head.

After he pulled away he gently grabbed her bruised arm and pulled it to him. He laid it across his lap and lightly pressed an ice pack to it. His other hand continued to run his fingers through her hair. "I love you. You're safe here with me," he murmured over and over again.

This hadn't been the best night of her life, but if nothing else it gave her absolute certainty about something. If she hadn't been sure before she definitely was now. She loved Toby Cavanaugh unconditionally, irrevocably, and with every part of her heart.


	3. Chapter 3

**You guys are wonderful! Seriously, the responses I got on here, on my other stories, and on tumblr were literally the best. This chapter is a bit filler-y, but it also has some fluff that you'll be very grateful for in future chapters! I really hope that you enjoy it!**

**REVIEW and let me know what you think!**

Chapter 3

SPOV

Spencer had always been the kind of person that woke up with the sun. Something about the heat gently warming her face caused her to wake up and stay up. She could think of very few exceptions to this. The occasional sleepover with the girls, considering Hanna thought it was a night wasted if they went to bed before 4 am. When she had mono in 10th grade. The morning after her grandmother had died. And now she could add this morning to the slowly growing list.

The only reason that she woke up when she did was because of the loud clattering that she heard from the kitchen. As the sleep left her and her senses returned to her she also smelled something burning. Oh God, Toby was trying to cook.

Her body was considerably more comfortable than when she had gone to bed, which meant that Toby must have carried her to his bed after she had fallen asleep for real. The gesture was very sweet, and she only could hope that he had laid with her rather than on the couch. There was no need for him to be uncomfortable in his own loft. And even more than that, she trusted him implicitly. There was no way that he'd try anything without getting her permission thirty times.

She slid out of Toby's full sized bed. As she flung the comforter over the mattress she thought back to the events of last night with a certain degree of embarrassment. While she was certain that she had made the correct decision in leaving her house she was less certain about her choice to come here. Toby would protect her, of that much she was sure, but was she really in need of protection? Were last night's hysterics really necessary? For God's sake, she had walked here in the cold and rain wearing nothing more than a pair of flip flops and a tank top. Not one of her better ideas.

But even as she thought about it she couldn't come to regret her decision. Even if her dad never laid another hand on her she had spent the night feeling safe and cared for, which was exactly what she needed, all things considered.

Spencer finished making Toby's bed before slipping out of his room and quietly walking into the kitchen. She peered at the stove and was confused when she was that he was making grilled cheese; very burnt grilled cheese, mind you. But the dish was still recognizable. "Grilled cheese? What time is it?"

She couldn't hold back a burst of laughter as she saw him jump. Apparently she was a bit stealthier than she had realized. "Sorry," she said through her giggles.

He turned to her with the friendly smile that she loved. "It's just after noon. I was about the come in there and wake you up."

Part of her wanted to freak out over how late she had slept, but most of her was just happy that she had been given the opportunity to rest. It was something that she desperately needed. "Oh no need, the subtle smell of charcoaled cheese did it for you."

He laughed with a slightly embarrassed shrug. "Cooking isn't my forte."

"Oh no, I bet it's the most delicious grilled cheese in the entire history of grilled cheese. In fact, I think we should submit a recipe to Betty Crocker. We can call it Blackened Grilled Cheese. Before you know it they'll be serving it to kids for school lunches." She quipped as she reached for some plates from the top cabinet. Her arm throbbed in protest, but she ignored it.

"Oh yeah. I'm so excited to be the reason kids pack their lunches for school," he chuckled and grabbed the plates from her. Sometimes Toby could be as smooth as butter. And other times he was awkward and adorable. His mixed bag was part of his charm.

Spencer sat at the table and smiled as he slid the grilled cheese in front of her. She busied herself taking small bites as he poured two glasses of milk. The sandwich actually tasted better than she had thought that it would. Although he had definitely given her the more edible of the two, she noted in amusement.

Toby sat down at his small table and slid a glass of milk at her. She looked up at him and suddenly his playful smile was gone. He reached across the table and gently grabbed her hand. "Spencer, we need to talk about yesterday."

She immediately shoved a bite of grilled cheese into her mouth so she had a minute to think before she had to speak. As she thoughtfully chewed he started to speak again. "Please just tell me what happened. Please. I'm not going to be able to rest until we talk about this."

"But I don't want to talk about it," she said softly, looking at the ground.

He frowned and looked down at the table. His grip tightened on her hand, but other than that he didn't acknowledge her. She was frustrating him and she knew it, but she wasn't going to sell out her dad for what may have been an honest mistake. "Okay. Listen to me carefully. I will drop it if you swear to me that you will call me if anything like this ever happens again. No wondering around in the rain. You call me and I'll come get you from wherever you are. I don't care where you are or what time of the night it is. Call me and I'll come get you."

He moved so that he was kneeling next to her on the ground. His hands cupped her cheeks, taking particular care not to be too rough on her bruised side. "Promise me, Spencer," he said in a soft, desperate voice.

"I don't want you to worry about me Toby. I'm sorry I came here last night but-"

He cut her before she could even finish her sentence. "Don't you dare apologize for that. I'm glad you came to me."

Spencer sighed softly. If it did happen again where else would she go other than here? "Alright. I promise that if anything happens again I'll call you."

Toby nodded and kissed her forehead before returning to his seat. His took a small bite of his grilled cheese. Spencer had to bite down on her tongue to stop herself from laughing at the disgusted look on his face. He really should leave the cooking to her.

He glanced back up at her and smirked when he saw the smile on her face. "Should we go back to your house soon? It's a little early, but you probably have to get ready, right?"

And with that she remembered that she had to spend the evening with her father. She supposed it would be a good opportunity to gauge whether or not she thought he'd do it again. He probably wouldn't try anything with mom, Melissa, and Wren there. And she knew that with Toby there she'd definitely be safe. "Yeah that's probably a good idea."

He nodded and shoved the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. He rose to his feet and grabbed her hand to pull her to a standing position as well. "Well then your chariot awaits, my lady."

If she had any say in it she would have forever remained in the sanctuary of Toby's loft. It was as though they were the only people in the world, and that no one could ever bother them. But unfortunately the only

Spencer appraised her house nervously as they pulled up to the curb. What was her dad going to say? Regardless she was glad she had asked Toby along because if she was doing this alone she would be much more nervous.

Toby reached from behind her to hold the door as she walked inside. Sometimes she laughed at those people that said chivalry was dead. Not in her man.

"Spencer?"

She tensed slightly as her father entered the kitchen at the same time as her and Toby. She flashed him a tight smile as she reached for Toby's hand. "Hey, dad," she said softly. She feel Toby's eyes on her, and she was sure that he was wondering why she was acting strange. But she was actually proud of herself for acting this way. It was a lot better than it could have been.

"Oh Toby. Hi. Spencer, can I talk to you alone for a second?"

Spencer hesitated and assessed his demeanor. She was pleasantly surprised at his tranquil face. If he was in a good mood she supposed that she could talk to him. Her hand gave Toby's a quick squeeze. "I'll meet you up in my room, okay?"

He nodded and leaned down to kiss her cheek. After flashing her a quick smile he released her hand and slowly walked up the stairs. Internally she was panicking a little bit, but she forced herself to maintain a calm facade. No matter what her dad wanted to say to her there was absolutely no way in the world that she was going to show him that she was upset with what happened last night.

Mr. Hastings slid a box out of his pocket and handed it to her. She took the box from him with a frown. "What is this?"

He reached out to grab her shoulder. When she saw his hand coming she wasn't able to stop herself from flinching away. She didn't think that he would do anything with Toby in the house, but it was an instinctual reaction.

At her reaction, Mr. Hastings pulled his hand back with an apologetic frown. "I wanted to apologize for last night. I lost my temper, and what I did was absolutely uncalled for. You know that I'm awful with words, so I thought that this might help you on the road to forgiveness."

She pulled the lid off of the box and was slightly shocked to see that it contained a gorgeous necklace with a small diamond pendant in the center. It was apparent that he had dropped a lot of money on this. Not that that necessarily meant that he was sorry. Her family had more than enough money to spare on the occasional necklace. She wanted to talk further about this, but there was no way in the world that she was going to incite another bout of rage in him. "Thank you," she mumbled and turned away.

"Oh, and Spencer? Go cover up the mark on your face. We don't want to inspire any awkward questions in your mom and Melissa."

Ah, so that's the reason for this subtle manipulation. He didn't want to look bad in front of the rest of the family. Her intelligence may not be at the same level as his, but she was smart enough to figure out the motivation behind is apparent kindness. "Okay," she said softly. She paused at the foot of the stairs in order to wait and see whether or not he had to say anything else. And she wasn't disappointed.

"What did you tell Toby?"

She paused and turned around. This time she was going to make herself absolutely clear. She didn't want to fight, but she also didn't want to be misunderstood on this. "Leave Toby out of this. I went to him because I was scared, and he was the only one that could make me feel safe. But I didn't tell him it was you because he would have lost his mind."

The pink tint that appeared on his cheeks was enough to get her nerves going, but he sent a curt nod in her direction before walking off. "We're leaving in about twenty minutes," he told her over his shoulder.

There was no need to respond to that. Her thoughts were elsewhere as her feet carried her up to her bedroom. She wasn't going to feel comfortable around her father for a long time. That very short conversation had been enough to leave her tense and mentally exhausted. As she reached her bedroom door she pushed it open and was met by the sight of her boyfriend sprawled out on her bed. "Comfortable?" she asked with a laugh.

"I'll be more comfortable when you come here and lay down with me," he responded immediately without looking up.

"Well, how can I refuse a suggestion like that?" Without any hesitation she climbed onto her bed and laid down next to Toby. His shoulder made for the perfect pillow to rest upon. He wrapped both arms around her and held her tightly. She felt as his content breathing puffed out against her hair, and she was happy to never move again. But unfortunately, that wasn't an option. She had to get ready to go out with her family. "Alright, I need to get up."

"Mmm, do you have too?" He mumbled into her hair and tightened his arms.

As much as she would like to just lay in his arms for the rest of her life, she had to go fix her makeup and put on something that wasn't eight sizes too big. "Unfortunately," she sighed.

She pulled herself up from her bed and went to her vanity. Copious amounts of foundation and some strategically placed concealer made quick work of her bruised face. The bruises on her wrist were easier to explain away. She figured that she would be able to just say that someone grabbed her wrist too hard in P.E. Although, knowing her mom she may threaten the poor kid with legal action.

A soft hand brushed down the back of her head. "Are you ready to get going?"

She couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face. God, he was too perfect. It didn't feel necessary to reply verbally. Her hand grasped his and lead him down to the kitchen where her father was waiting for them. Mr. Hastings held open the garage door for them and Spencer and Toby settled in together in the backseat of the car.

* * *

TPOV

Spencer thought that she was being stealthy and calm, but she wasn't fooling anyone. She wasn't acting like herself at all, and it was really concerning him. He may have believed that her injuries were due to an ill-fated argument or a one time brawl if she weren't acting so incredibly tense. It were as though she expected someone to attack her. The thought was almost laughable though. As if he would let anyone hurt her while he was around.

He looked down at her with a small smile. She was so beautiful, and he still couldn't believe his luck. How could someone so perfect want to be with someone as unremarkable as him? But he would fight like hell to keep her. He brushed her hair away from her neck, and leaned down so that his mouth was inches away from her ear. "Stay with me again tonight?" He spoke softly enough that Mr. Hastings wouldn't hear him.

The smile on her face warmed his heart. The last twenty-four hours had been tough for her, so he was glad that he was able to cheer her up, however marginally it may have been. She nodded and brushed her fingers down his jawline. If her father weren't in the car he would have leaned down to kiss her, but he had never had the best self control when it came to Spencer. A full on make out session directly behind her dad may not inspire the best opinions of him. No matter what he said, he did want her parents to like him.

"I'm going to drop you guys off in front of the restaurant and park the car in the garage down the street."

The gruff voice of Mr. Hastings broke the mood and they reluctantly separated. If it were up to him he would always stay attached to Spencer. "Sounds great, sir."

Spencer apparently felt the same way because she reached across the back seat to take a hold of his hand again. Their fingers slowly laced together. Her slow but sure movements sent butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. How manly was that? Maybe he should call them bats. Bats were fluttering around in his stomach?

He was pulled from his awkward musings by the jerk of the car as Mr. Hastings put it into park. As the doors clicked open he slid out of the car and held his hands out to help Spencer. They walked into the restaurant together, and he noticed her loosening up with every step they took away from her father's car. Did she not want to be around her father for some reason? What was going on?

Spencer was relaxed the entire time that she was at his loft, and then she got tense and nervous as soon as they arrived at her house. And now that they were temporarily leaving her dad she was relaxing again.

_No._

There was no way. Her dad couldn't have been the one to hurt her, could he? But as much as he didn't want to believe it, everything made sense. How was he going to find out if it was the truth? He couldn't just ask her about it. She had been avoiding the question for a reason and if he asked her any specific questions she would just get defensive and deny it.

"Toby, what's wrong?"

The consumption of his horrified thoughts caused him to come to a standstill without even realizing it. As he looked at Spencer he knew exactly what to do. There was no way in the world he was going to leave her alone with him. He would just carefully observe and true to decide whether or not it was true before taking any action. And if it came to it he would protect her with everything in him. He smiled at her and shook his head. "I'm fine. I love you."

She crinkled her forehead in confusion but smiled softly. "I love you too."

And no matter what was going on and what happened from here on out that was the most important thing.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'M SORRY. Like seriously. I'm sorry. Just wait for it. I will update again on Sunday or Monday, depending on reviews and when I get the chapter finished! I'll shoot for Sunday though.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you who reviewed for the first time. I'm still really insecure about my writing, so any positive feedback you guys give me seriously makes me so insanely happy. Picture the biggest goofiest smile you've ever seen and that's my face when I read your review. SOOO yeah, this chapter is for every single person who had reviewed, favorited, or followed!**

**In fact, I'm uploading this a day early because you all are so wonderful! And I'll make you a deal. Chapter 3 got seven reviews! If this one gets 10 I'll upload early again! And I have a feeling you're going to want answers. **

**I hope you love it! Happy reading!**

Chapter 4

SPOV

The funny thing about time was that when you wanted it to slow down it only sped up. And when you thought that the worst had happened you were proven wrong every time. She had no idea how bad life could be, but she was about to.

It was hard to open her locker while she was thinking so deeply, but after several failed attempts she finally managed to enter in the correct combination. She stared at her reflection in the mirror on the door as she continued her line of thinking. There were times when you felt like you were the blessed and the luckiest. Other times you may feel as though you're at rock bottom. And then there were times where you recognized your blessings, but that you also had some serious issues facing you. That is where Spencer currently was in her life. She was so lucky that she had so many friends and an amazing boyfriend to stay with, but she also knew that she desperately needed to go home to figure things out with her dad.

"Spencer, where's your head right now?"

She blinked a few times as she was pulled from her musings by Aria's patient voice, but before she could focus enough to answer Hanna spoke for her.

"Where else would her mind be? On books, French pastries, and her sexy, sexy muscle man boyfriend," Hanna laughed.

Hanna and Spencer were about as different as two people could possibly ever be. Beauty vs. Brains. Blonde vs. Brunette. Multiple people had questioned the validity of their friendship, but it was at moments like this that she understood exactly why they were friends. Even in her darkest moments Hanna could make her laugh like no one else could. "Did you just call Toby sexy, Hanna?"

She waved her hands dismissively. "No need to worry. I have my own sexy man," she said in a serious voice, as though Spencer was actually worried about it.

It was cute, really. That was something that she'd never have to worry about when it came to Toby. He was more loyal than a golden retriever. "Thanks for the assurance, Han."

"I live to please," she said loftily as she walked down the hall to her final class of the day. It had always amused Spencer how Hanna had walked through the halls of Rosewood High as though she was a high fashion model and they were her runways.

"You ready for Russian History, Spence?"

She turned and linked her arm with Aria's as they walked down the hall together toward their class. "I wonder if we're going to get our tests back. I don't think that I did very well on it."

Aria snorted and released her arm. "Oh please. There wasn't even extra credit and you'll probably still get over a hundred percent."

When they walked into the room she noticed the stapled stacks of paper sitting upside down on each desk. She didn't necessarily want to see her grade, but at least she'll know what she got. Worrying about it was doing her no good. She gave Aria a smile before walking to her desk and flipping the papers over. Her heart sank when she took in the grade.

_A C-._

She did not just get a C-. After twelve years of school she hadn't ever gotten a grade lower than a B, and even with a B she would have been incredibly upset.

"And because this is an Advanced Placement course I am going to need those of you who scored lower than a B to get your test signed by your parents before you return it to me tomorrow. This is just to ensure that your parents are aware of your less than desirable performance. Consider it a means of encouragement." Mrs. Wilson continued to speak, but Spencer's mind was elsewhere.

So she hadn't talked to her dad in a week, and their first interaction would have to be her admitting that her grades were slipping? That was going to be a brilliant conversation. The rest of the class went by in a haze. Most of her life she had felt less than adequate, and now she was going to prove it. How could she have let this happen?

When the bell rang Spencer immediately walked out of the school. Usually she would have stopped to chat with Toby or her friends but she wasn't in the correct mindset today. An annoying little voice in the back of her mind reminded her that Toby was going to worry about her, but she honestly couldn't bring herself to care right now. She was staying with him tonight, so she would explain later. A lot of people would be annoyed by her dramatics, but they truly just didn't understand her. Being a Hastings was all about competition and about being the best. And it wasn't just an internal competition, because her family also demanded perfection.

She steeled herself for a fight as she reached her door and pushed it open. Spencer took a deep breath and walked through the house and to her father's office door. She knocked three times on the door and waited for him to answer.

As soon as she heard movement behind the door she held her breath, not looking forward to the verbal abuse that she was about to endure. He wasn't going to react well to this. She anticipated being called a failure and being compared to Melissa's steady stream of A's. As if Spencer needed reminding of her inadequacies.

The door swung open and Mr. Hastings stood there in surprise. "Spencer? You're home."

"Um yeah, but I'm leaving again. I just need you or mom to sign something," she said softly.

He nodded and reached for a pen on his desk. "Your mom is in New York, but I can sign it. Are you going on a field trip?"

Her lower lip was raw from the nervous chewing. "I... I did something stupid."

"What did you do, Spencer?" The change in his demeanor would have been comical had it not been rather frightening. His entire body instantaneously tensed and his eyes flashed with underlying rage.

It was times like this that she sometimes questioned her father's sanity. A typical person doesn't go from calm to enraged at the drop of a hat like he does. Her feet took a small, unconscious step back before speaking. "I got a C- on my Russian History test," she mumbled.

He leaned forward slightly, his lips pressed tightly together. "Repeat that."

"I got a C- on my Russian Histo-"

Before she could even get the whole sentence the back of his hand struck her cheek lightening fast. The suddenness of his movement and the force of the blow caused her to stagger to the ground. She leaned against the wall and covered her cheek with her hands.

"That's what I thought you said. When are you ever going to learn, Spencer?"

Her hand pressed against the wall so that she could propel herself upward if it were necessary. Shock was all that she was feeling right now. She had given him the benefit of the doubt. How stupid was she? She should have just told Toby or her mom before he had been given the chance to hit her again.

"You're even a disappointment when it comes to explaining your pitiful excuse for grades."

This was too much. She didn't need to explain herself to him when he was like this. Instead of waiting for him to further demean her she used the wall to pull herself up into a standing position. "Just give me the test back. I'll come back when mom is here."

Mr. Hastings put his hands on each of her shoulders and shoved her hard into the wall. The air was knocked out of her lungs as she made impact; all she could manage was to slide weakly down the wall until she could catch her breath.

"I don't want to hurt you Spencer, but it seems as though this is the only way that you'll learn. If words were enough you wouldn't have dared to get a C on a test. Your mother and I have given you every single opportunity to succeed and you just throw it away. No more. You are to go to your room, and don't even think about calling Toby or your friends. If I am okay with hitting my own daughter don't hesitate to believe that I would do the same to any of them."

That wasn't going to happen. She wasn't going to just sit there and allow him to hit her, and she absolutely wasn't going to allow him to hurt any of the people that she loved. The man had raised her, and he should have known that. Threatening her friends and Toby was the wrong move if he wanted her to comply with his demands. When he glanced away she quickly stood up and walked away from his office. She just had to get out of the house and then she could call Toby. That's all that she had to do.

Unfortunately it wasn't quite working the way that she had hoped. His footsteps sounded heavy as he followed her out into the kitchen. Her eye was caught by a broom leaning against the counter. Instead of making her way to the stairs she grabbed the broom and whipped around. She held the broom in front of her defensively. "I'm leaving, and you're going to let me go," she could hear her voice shaking but she maintained eye contact. As long as he took her seriously she didn't care if he knew that she was afraid.

He laughed and took another step forward with his arm outstretched to grab her. She knew that there was no way that he wasn't going to hit her. The look in his eyes told her enough. Her grip tightened on the broom as she swung out in the direction of his body. Instead of getting hit he caught the broom with both of his hands and yanked it out of her hands.

"You bitch," he snapped and swung the broom at her. Her brain exploded in pain as the handle came in contact with the side of her head. Her body fell to the ground like a rag doll. Moving didn't feel possible right now so she curled up in herself and hoped that he would leave her be. He kicked at her, but the impact wasn't even felt. The pain in her head was so great that she didn't feel anything else.

"If you leave you'll regret it," he said simply and walked back in to his office.

As soon as she heard the door shut she slowly pulled herself into a sitting position. Immediately she leaned against the island in the kitchen, unable to support her weight. The room was spinning and her vision wasn't as crisp as it typically was. When she brushed her fingers against her head they were met with sticky wetness. Her head was pressed against the cool tile of the island as she considered her options. Was her father serious? Would he hurt Toby or her friends? She had less than no desire to stay in this house, but she would if it kept them safe. But on the other hand she had promised Toby that she would call him if anything else happened. She knew that he would protect her, but she didn't want him to get hurt in the process.

But in the end she knew that there was only one good decision. There was no need to protect her father any more. She slid her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Toby's number. He answered after a single ring.

_"Spencer. Where are you? Are you okay?"_

The worry in his tone sent a white hot bubble of guilt through her stomach and tears in her eyes. Especially because she was about to tell him that his worries weren't unfounded. She should have listened to her instincts and waited for him. "Toby," she sobbed. Her sudden burst of emotion was embarrassing, but it wasn't something that she could help.

_"Where are you?"_

His voice changed from calm and soothing to tense with underlying tones of anger. She didn't want him to worry about her, but she also didn't think that she had ever needed him more. "Home," she whispered brokenly.

_"Okay. Do not move. I'm down the street, and I'll be there in a minute. Don't hang up the phone."_

The whine of his truck's engine as he pressed down on the accelerator could be easily heard over the phone. "Okay," she whispered. She listened in silence as she heard the truck pull up into the house and the door slam. Seconds later the kitchen door opened.

It was like the entire atmosphere of the Hastings house changed as Toby entered it. She could hear him walking toward her, but she was too afraid to look at him. Where exactly the fear was coming from wasn't immediately apparent. Partially she was embarrassed. She had always prided herself on being a strong and confident woman. This shouldn't have happened to her. But also, she was afraid of Toby's reaction. He was going to lose it, and she didn't know if she trusted herself to hold him back. Part of her would like nothing better than to see him kick her dad's ass. But she also knew that was a terrible idea.

Spencer jumped as a light hand pressed into her arm.

"Spence it's just me. You're alright." Toby's voice was soothing and calm, but she could still hear the anger.

She nodded, but turned her face further away without speaking. She could feel his eyes on her as his hand came to rest on her shaking arm. "Spencer you need to let me see."

His hand slowly reached for her face and lightly turned it so that he could see what she was trying to hide. It was obvious that he was moving slowly and carefully so that she could stop him if she wanted to, but she didn't. She trusted him and she knew that he wasn't going to be able to calm down until he saw that she was largely okay.

She looked down at his other hand for a moment before reluctantly moving her eyes up to meet his. Her heart leapt in her chest when she saw that his eyes were welling up with tears. And with that their roles were suddenly reversed. "Hey, I'm fine," she whispered. Her quiet and shaky voice made it more than obvious that she was just trying to placate him, but she had to try. She lifted up her hand and wiped away the tears that escaped his eyes.

"No. You aren't." He grabbed a dish rag from the oven handle and pressed it lightly to her bleeding head. "Did your dad do this?"

It wasn't that she wanted to protect her dad, but more that there was something difficult about admitting that your father hit you. She averted her eyes from his gaze, but he immediately caught her chin and forced her to maintain eye contact. "Spencer. Talk to me. Did your dad do this?"

The sincerity and desperation in his gaze made it impossible to deny him. But if she spoke she would start crying again. She nodded her head once in confirmation.

As soon as he took in her nod he snapped his eyes shut. Because his hand was still on her cheek she could feel him shaking. "Toby," she whispered and placed her hand on top of his. She felt dizzy, but nothing felt more important than comforting him.

He kept his eyes closed, but he moved his hand so that it was enveloping her smaller one. After a moment he stood up so quickly that she didn't even realize what was going on.

"Where is he? I'm going to kill him!"

She immediately latched onto his hand with both of hers. "No Toby. Please let's just go?" Her voice broke at the end, further emphasizing her desperation to just get out of her house.

He looked down at her torn. His other hand lightly brushed over the top of her head before nodding. "God, I shouldn't have let you come back here. I suspected that your dad hit you last time, but I didn't say anything. I thought that I could protect you from him. I'm so sorry Spencer."

There was no way that was going to allow that to continue. This was in no way his fault and he needed to realize that. "Toby this is not your fault."

Toby didn't respond to her statement, which told her that he didn't agree with her. He had never hidden his guilt well. Instead he squatted down next to her and wrapped both of his strong arms around her waist to pull her upward. She was feeling a little better, but still too disoriented to try and walk on her own. Her right arm wrapped around his back so that she could hang on, but before they could start walking the sound of her father's office door could be heard throughout the kitchen.

Her entire body tensed, and she glanced up at Toby hesitantly. This wasn't going to end well.

He leaned down so that he could whisper in a voice that only she could hear. "I'm going to sit you down, okay?"

In her mind she was formulating a refusal that he may listen too, but before she had a chance to speak her father walked in behind them. Instead of sitting her down he tightened his grip on her and began walking as quickly as they could toward the exit. "Everything's fine. Everything will be okay," Toby murmured as they neared the door.

Before they managed to exit their progress was halted by an ironclad grip on her wrist. She didn't have to look to know that it was her father. His fingers dug in so tightly that she immediately gasped in pain. Despite the pain she took a moment to appreciate the contract between the way Toby touched her and the way that her dad did. Just because you could hurt someone didn't mean that you should.

The pain only lasted a second because Toby quickly ripped her father's arm away from hers. He turned the two of them around and stepped in front of Spencer in one seamless motion. "Do not touch her." His tone was dripping with anger, and the warning behind his words was undeniable.

Spencer took a small step backwards so she could lean on the wall. Her head was just kind of fuzzy feeling, and she would rather lean against the wall than fall over. Toby reached back to grab her arm, presumably making sure that she was still standing without having to take his eyes off their adversary.

Mr. Hastings' face was a mask of anger. "Who's going to stop me? Spencer I swear to you, if you leave with this boy you'll regret it."

That was laughable. Leaving with Toby would be the only decision that she could never regret. "The only bad decision would be staying here with you," she said softly.

"You're an ungrateful little shit," he snapped and tried to reach around Toby to grab her again.

With that Toby had apparently had enough because he swung his arm and punched him in the side of the head. "How does it feel?" He said softly.

Without waiting for a response he turned to focus on Spencer. Either side of her face was cupped by one of his long hands. He looked into her eyes as though he was searching for some kind of answer. Apparently he found what he was looking for because instead of allowing her to walk he bent down and lifted her bridal style. He ran across the lawn and settled her in the passenger side of the car. It only took him a moment to get in his side and lock the doors. And it was none too soon because as soon as Toby hit the lock button something slammed into Spencer's door. She jumped when she saw her father's face. It was obvious that he couldn't hurt her right now, but the fear was still there.

The car pulled away from the curb and Spencer finally felt safe enough to relax. She leaned her head against the cool window, which felt great against her bruised face.

"Spencer, are you okay?"

She lifted her head and gave him as reassuring a smile as she could muster. "I'm fine. I just want to relax. But I actually don't think that we should go back to your loft right away. Give him a chance to cool down before we go somewhere he can find us?"

At the red light he turned and put his hand on the side of her neck. "How hard did he hit you? Do you need to go to the emergency room?"

It would probably be a good idea if she did, but she didn't want too. "I don't think so. My head hurts and I'm dizzy , but if it doesn't feel better tomorrow I'll go, okay?"

His eyes told her that he didn't necessarily agree with her decision, but he nodded instead of arguing with her. For that she was grateful. "Thank you." She wasn't just thanking him for acquiescing her request, but for everything he had just done for her.

His hand reached out and grasped hers tightly. It was unbelievable how much security that simple gesture provided. "Do you want to go up to Lookout Point? We can sit in the truck for awhile and you can rest before we go back to my loft?"

She couldn't hold back a smile at his suggestion. Somehow he always knew exactly what she needed even if she wasn't able to see it for herself. "That sounds good to me," she said softly. Her head leaned back against the seat of the truck and she closed her eyes. When she was in her house she felt nothing but scared and tense. But when she was with Toby she felt so secure; like nothing could ever hurt her. Before this whole experience she was pretty sure that he would protect her, but now he had proven it to her. And the gratitude that she felt toward him would never wane. She loved him so much.

Toby's hand was methodically running up and down her arm in comfort. She was sure that she could feel the goosebumps that his motion was causing, but she didn't care because it just felt so nice. As she felt the car begin to move uphill she opened her eyes to take in her surroundings.

As they went around the last curve before turning into the parking lot a large yellow SUV came speeding around the other lane and slammed head on into the truck. She couldn't hold back a scream as Toby lost control of the car. The speed at which the SUV hit them caused Toby's truck to break through the guard rail and go tumbling over the edge of the steepest cliff in Rosewood.

Toby flung his arm outward in front of her once it became apparent that there was no way he was regaining control of his truck. Scared as she was, her most coherent thought was annoyance that they hadn't taken her car. Toby's truck was about a million years old, and they should have thought about the fact that his airbags were probably no longer functioning. As the truck tumbled down the hill the dashboard began crunching inward. Excruciating pain shot through her leg and she blacked out. Her last thoughts were with Toby. This was her fault, and if he was hurt at all she would never be able to forgive herself.

**AN**

**Sidenote, I'M SO SORRY. Like on my outline I literally wrote OMGSORRY. I would be so upset if I was reading this in another story, so I feel your pain. And like... yeah... okay. REVIEW :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**OMG okay so I know I said I wasn't going to update until Sunday, but I got EIGHT REVIEWS within like a twelve hour period. How could I not update after that! You guys are seriously wonderful wonderful wonderful WONDERFUL. **

**Okay, so yeah sorry about this LOL. Okay, no I'm not. I love reading your reviews. But anyways here's chapter 5! It's a little shorter, but there was literally no other place to stop it!**

**The next chapter will be up early next week (Tuesdayish) or when I get 10 reviews! Up to you guys! Okay, so yeah, ENJOY!**

Chapter 5

SPOV

_As the truck tumbled down the hill the dashboard began crunching inward. Excruciating pain shot through her leg and she blacked out. Her last thoughts were with Toby. This was her fault, and if he was hurt at all she would never be able to forgive herself._

A small groan escaped her lips and she snapped her eyes open. She had no idea how long she had been out for. But judging by the slowly darkening sky, quite some time had passed. Her vision was masked by a haze of excruciating pain. It took a moment before her mind pushed through it and her vision cleared.

The truck had tumbled around fifty feet down the cliff and came to rest at a forty five degree angle against a tree and a large pile of rocks with her side leaning slightly lower. The hood was bunched and crumpled up like an accordion. All of the windows had shattered. Well the truck was definitely totaled. The intense and radiating pain that she was currently experiencing suggested that her own body wasn't doing much better.

It took distinct effort to swallow down the bile that crept up her tight throat at the sight of her leg. Her femur was not only broken, but it was so badly broken that the bone had snapped in half and through the skin. It was a particularly gory sight. The blood dripped down and pool around her foot. The lower portion of her leg may have also been injured, but she couldn't look past her damaged thigh. It was also more than apparent that her head was worse that before. She could actually feel blood dripping down her forehead, but she felt rather fortunate that she wasn't worse.

It was inconceivable that anything could be stronger than her pain right now, but guilt was making a distinct effort to surpass her pain. Toby had worked so hard to be able to afford this truck, and now it was ruined because of her weakness and stupidity.

_Toby._

She turned her head to the side so quickly that her next popped and her head spun even faster than it had already been. What her eyes were met with was more horrifying than anything she had ever seen. When she hadn't heard anything from Toby it should have been apparent that something was seriously wrong, but she was too blinded by pain to consider the possibility. His head was covered by a layer of sticky blood, and his body was slack against the straining seat belt. The restraint was the only thing that kept him from sliding into her. If she had to guess it looked like he either hit his head against the steering wheel or the small bits of glass remaining in his window. Whatever the issue was she knew that she needed to get him help right now.

"Toby?" Her voice was shaky and terrified. Never before had she felt such a deep and forbidding sense of dread. And she could say in confidence that this was the only kind of situation that could inspire that kind of fear. A trembling hand reached out to lightly shake his arm. "Please wake up Toby. Please," she whispered through her tears.

His body remained limp, and with that her pain no longer mattered. Nothing mattered other than finding a way to get him the help that he needed. "Hang in there, Toby. Hang on. I'll... I'll figure something out."

She leaned around Toby to take in the path in which they took to get here. It was relatively camouflaged by trees and brush. Furthermore, the roads in Pennsylvania were curvy and hilly. No one would think twice when they saw a broken guardrail. Any hope that she may have had of a rescue was wiped away. Someone would find them eventually, but it would be too late for Toby. He needed help now. She patted her sweater pocket for her phone and groaned in annoyance when she couldn't find it.

A quick glance out the window sent a flash of irony and annoyance through her. Her eyes locked on her iPhone that was lodged between two rocks about five feet from her side of the truck. A moment of deduction lead her to realize that the phone must have slid out of her lose pocket and through the shattered window.

Her desperate eyes turned back to Toby. His phone wasn't immediately obvious, and she wasn't willing to risk him further injury by patting him down or moving him. That left only one solution, and it wasn't going to be a fun one.

She closed her eyes and ground her teeth together as she reached for the buckle on her seat belt. One hand reached for the door to brace herself, but she instinctively knew that it wasn't going to help. A tear slid out of her right eye and down her cheek in anticipation of the pain she was about to feel. She pressed the button and the seat belt released. Gravity pulled her thin frame to the side of her car. When her leg made impact she couldn't stifle a scream as her vision got spotty and she thought that she was going to pass out. Somehow, through the grace of God, she managed to hang on to her consciousness.

Her hand grasped for the door blindly. After a moment of fumbling she managed to grab a hold of the handle, but as hard as she tried she couldn't manage to get it opened. It must have been jammed from the accident.

"Damn it."

Her erratic breathing slowed as she resigned herself to doing what she knew she was going to have to do. Even small movements caused incredible pain to shoot through her, but it was pain she could endure for Toby's sake.

Both hands grasped the edged of the newly free window opening. Glass dug into her palms, but compared to the pain in her leg it was nothing. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to lift her weight, but she was determined to get out of the window, regardless.

She reached out the window and grasped what little of the rock pile she could reach. Using the rock as support she began to shimmy and slide her way out of the truck. Her will power and determination were the only thing that kept her conscious. Pain like this was not something she had ever experienced nor something that she would like to experience again. With every movement that she made she could feel the glass from the window digging into her body, but what was troubling her to a greater extent was her leg. She should be able to move it, despite the bad break. But instead it just flopped after her bringing along unwelcome agony.

Time was standing still for her. She didn't know how long it took her to get out of the truck, but after putting forth copious amounts of effort she managed to escape. Her head stayed pressed against the rocks for a moment, waiting for the fire-like agony that was shooting through every inch of her body to die down. But it wasn't going away. The edges of her vision began to go black, and she knew that she had to keep going. If she stayed still she was going to pass out, and that just wasn't an option. Her hand reached toward the phone but it was just out of her grasp. Drawing upon all of her remaining energy Spencer placed her hands flat on the rock, clenched her teeth, and propelled herself forward. The energy and stamina that it required made it feel as though she had gone miles, but it reality she had only moved forward a few inches.

She stretched her arm outward and for only a moment her relief overshadowed her pain. Her hand clasped around her phone and pulled it to her. The glass of the cracked screen pricked at her fingers as she dialed 911. To her immense relief the emergency dispatcher answered after only a single ring.

_"911, what's your emergency?"_

A deep breath and the soothing voice of the woman on the other end of the line gave her the stamina to explain what happened. "I was in a car accident with my boyfriend." She hadn't really spoken since she had left the car, and the weak and pain filled sound of her voice alarmed her.

_"Okay sweetie, stay calm. Can you tell me exactly how long ago this occurred? Also, what's your location?"_

Now that there were others aware of what had happened Spencer could feel herself growing weaker. The deep cuts she had gotten from the glass she was forced to slid across definitely weren't helping anything. She was actually shocked that she had been able to stay conscious for as long as she had. "I don't know, I passed out. But it's darker than it was, so awhile. And we're down the cliff right off of Lookout Point. We were headed north, so I think we should be on the east side."

_"What can you tell me about the injuries? The more information you can give me the better prepared the paramedics will be."_

She could feel herself slipping away, but she knew she had to hang on for awhile longer. "Toby, my boyfriend, he's been unconscious the whole time. His face and head are bleeding a lot. I'm pretty sure he must have sustained a head injury. I didn't want to touch him and make anything worse."

_"What about you sweetie?"_

Spencer felt an irrational surge of anger toward this woman. If she was worried about herself than she would have told her. She could hear the welcome sound of sirens approaching in the distance. "I'm fine, don't worry about me. Just help Toby."

_"Honey, I can tell from your voice that that's not true. I know you're worried about your boyfriend, but you need to let us help you too."_

She sighed but she knew that the woman was right. "My leg is broken pretty badly. And I hit my head too. I'm also bleeding a lot. My phone had fallen out of the car, so I had to climb out of the window to get it. But in the process I cut myself a lot of the broken window."

_"It sounds like you were very brave. What's your name, sweetheart?"_

It was hard to hold herself back from explaining to this woman why she wasn't brave. What she did was actually the epitome of selfishness. If anyone was going to die in this accident it deserved to be her. Stupid, selfish, failure Spencer. Not Toby. Never Toby. The world was a better place while he was in it. She was a better person while he was in her life. He was everything to her, and there was no way in the world she was going to let him suffer for another second; even if that meant a little more pain for herself. "I had to save Toby. My name's Spencer. Spencer Hastings."

She could hear the woman on the other end of the phone speaking, but Spencer was distracted by shouts and rustling noises from the trees. Oh thank God. Her stomach ached in relief, and her tight grip loosened on the phone. She heard as it bounced off the ground but there was no way that she was going to be able to move to get it. If she was capable of moving she would have gone back to Toby.

The lids on her eyes grew heavy, and she knew immediately that she was not going to be able to stay awake for much longer. But she had to try. As immobile as she currently was, she felt as though it was her duty to stand vigil over Toby.

"Toby, I love you," she whispered to herself. He obviously couldn't hear her, but whether or not the words were spoken by him she knew that he felt the same.

Her heart skipped a beat as she felt a large, gentle hand on her shoulder. Part of her hoped that it was Toby, but the rational side of her knew that it was impossible. A second set of hands grasped her other shoulder, and together the two men flipped her over. The fact that she felt no pain that time was worrisome, but not so much so that she could bring herself to worry about her own injuries. "Toby..." she murmured in a nearly inaudible whisper.

"Don't try to talk," said the soothing voice of one of the paramedics. "You're going to be okay."

Spencer coughed and slowly blinked her eyes open. "N-no. Is T-Toby okay?"

"We'll do everything we can for the both of you," the other paramedic murmured as he strapped her onto the board.

Because she was Spencer Hastings she wanted to question them further. But she couldn't. She wasn't able to find the breath or energy to respond. Her eyes slowly shut, but this time they didn't open. She was conscious of movement for another moment or two before passing out completely.


	6. Chapter 6

**OMG. Seriously I love you guys so much! That last chapter got the most reviews I have ever gotten on any of my stories! I'm so excited right now! Okay, so as promised since you guys are AMAZING with the reviews, here's the next chapter!**

**This ended up being WAY LONGER than I originally thought, which you guys should like. So also, funny story... I made myself cry writing this hahaha. So yeah. Okay enjoy!**

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**I anticipate the next chapter being up Wednesdayish, unless you're BRILLIANT with the reviews again. And if you are I'll upload it as soon as I'm done with it! Review and let me know what you think!**

Chapter 6

SPOV

"Do you think that she'll wake up soon?"

When you watch people waking up in a hospital in the movies they do it gracefully, but that was definitely not the experience that she had. She could hear voices but it was as though she was immobilized. The circumstances as to what put her in the hospital remained allusive, but the distinctive smell and obnoxious beeping made it more than obvious that's where she was.

"It's Spencer. She'll be up and bossing us around in no time."

Leave it to Hanna to both offend her and make her want to laugh in equal measure. With her increased level of awareness pain incrementally worked its way through her body from her feet all the way up to her head. She didn't understand. What the hell happened?

"I don't want to have to tell her though."

Tell her what? Damn it she was sick of this. She was going to open her eyes and she was going to do it now.

"Everything will be fine."

Aria's soothing voice was always comforting. She knew that she would be there to calm her down after Hanna told her the point blank truth. After taking two long, deep breaths Spencer focused all her energy on opening her eyes. The slowly fluttered open and immediately squinted. The harsh hospital lights were basically burning out her retinas. "Ouch," she mumbled.

"Spencer!" Hanna said in a voice that kind of made her head feel like it was getting stabbed by fifty knives.

As soon as Aria saw that her eyes were open she stood up and walked over to dim the lights. She always knew that Aria was her favorite. "Shhh." she mumbled and snapped her eyes shut again. What the hell had happened to her? It felt as though she had been kicked in the head by a freaking elephant. And her leg hurt like something she had never felt before in her entire life. Her eyes slowly opened up again and glanced down at her leg, and her brow furrowed in concern when she saw her full leg cast.

"What happened?" she murmured and glanced between her two friends.

Aria and Hanna exchanged a reluctant glance, and they turned back to Spencer almost in complete sync. "Do you not remember anything?"

She rolled her eyes. If she remembered what happened then she wouldn't be asking them. Did they not know her at all? She enjoyed knowing the answers, not playing dumb. "The last thing I remember was um _talking _with my dad." She took a small pause before continuing. "Where's Toby? And Emily?"

For some reason she wasn't willing to tell them what happened with her dad. She couldn't just come out and say, oh hey guys. My dad beat the crap out of me. But was that what happened? Did more happen with her dad after he hit her with the broom?

Hanna opened her mouth, presumably to tell her what happened, but before she had a chance to speak her mother walked into the room closely followed by her father. Mrs. Hastings was carrying a tray of coffees, which explained their absence. She always thought that the statement that someone's heart skipped a beat was a bit stupid, but watching her dad walk into her hospital room gave her a new appreciation for the phrase. She didn't want to see him or even look at him. But fear was holding her back. She didn't know what to do.

"Spencer, how are you doing?"

Spencer's eyes didn't move from her father's as she answered her mother's question. "I don't know. Everything hurts and I don't remember what happened. Can someone explain this to me? Please?"

The dangerous look in her father's eyes was still there, and she instinctively knew that were she to tell what he had done that it would have been a very bad idea. She had to keep it to herself for now. There was no way that she was going to risk her friends just for a little peace of mind.

Also, where was Toby? She found it hard to believe that he wouldn't be there with her while she was in the hospital.

Hanna looked at her sadly. "You were in a car accident..."

Hanna was still talking, but at the words car accident everything came rushing back to her. Toby coming to rescue her from her dad. Him carrying her out to his truck. Going up to Lookout Point. The yellow SUV. Climbing out the window. No. Oh God, was Toby okay? Oh God.

She could feel herself getting agitated, which was probably not a great thing when she was hooked up to so many machines. But there was literally no way in the world she was going to allow herself to be sedated before she got the answers that she needed. "_Toby?!" _She gasped out between her deep, shaky breaths.

Hanna and Aria glanced at each other again, silently agreeing that Aria should take this one. Which did nothing for her nerves. If he was fine Hanna would have just blurted it out. Oh God. "Spence, he's still unconscious. He's not doing too well."

That was about all she could take. _Toby. _Her sweet, wonderful, protective boyfriend was in another hospital bed, doing worse than she was. And it was all her fault. Her efforts at the accident site meant nothing. She wanted details. She wanted Hanna to go steal his chart so she could read exactly what was wrong with him. But she couldn't speak. She couldn't breath. She couldn't even think. All she cared about was Toby. He might die, and it was all her fault.

She could feel a soothing hand rest on her arm, and internally she knew that it had to either be Aria or Hanna. Her parents had never been ones for gentle touches, obviously. "Spence, you need to calm down."

Hanna's words were strangely logical for her normal emotion filled existence. Spencer knew she was right, but she also knew that there was no way she was going to be able to calm down. "No, no, no, no, no." she muttered over and over again under her breath. This couldn't be happening. He didn't deserve this. If anyone should be seriously injured it should be her.

The pragmatic side of her brain reminded her that she didn't exactly escape the accident without injury, but that was beside the point. She shouldn't have called him. She should have just dealt with everything on her own. "Is someone with him?" She bent over to put her face in her hands, her back screaming in protest, and she was surprised to see that the unbandaged portions of her face were wet with her tears. When had she started to cry?

She was surprised that Aria was able to understand her through her sobbing breaths. "That's where Emily is. His parents were here earlier, but they had to go to work. And we didn't want him to be alone."

Spencer started pulling at wires and tubes. There was no way that she was going to just sit here in a bed while Toby was across the hospital maybe dying. No, she had to see him. "Help me. I have to see him. I have to go right now."

"Spence..." Hanna trailed off sympathetically. Had it been anyone else it would have annoyed her, because they didn't know how she felt. Aria was in a scandalous relationship with her teacher and she would be willing to bet the contents of her trust fund that her parents never loved each other. But Hanna? Hanna had Caleb, and she knew that she would be reacting exactly how Spencer was were their situations reversed.

Before Spencer could respond to Hanna a nurse rushed into the room with a syringe. Her cold fingers wrapped around Spencer's wrist and pulled her arm out straight.

"No, please. I need to see Toby. Please!" Spencer wasn't usually one to beg or show any unnecessary emotions, but her desperation was to the point that it was spilling over. She had to see him. It would be impossible for her to think that he might be okay without visually seeing him. Every time she closed her eyes all she saw was the broken boy in the truck. And it was all her fault. How was she supposed to live with this?

The nurse ignored her protests and jammed the needle into the crook of her arm. The effects of the sedative were instantaneous. Her heart rate slowed down, and her eyes began to close against her will. Before she passed out one more word managed to escape her lips.

"Toby."

* * *

Blood, glass, panic, desperation, pain.

Spencer's eyes shot open, and she would have sat up were she not held down by a heavy blanket of pain. She welcomed the pain though. It was much easier to deal with than the nightmares plaguing her unconscious mind. This time things were a bit more clear, and she was able to take better stock of her injuries. She could barely feel her leg, which she took to mean that it was serious. They must have had her on a great deal of medication to dull the pain. Her head hurt the worst, but that was to be expected. After the blows from her father in addition to the accident she was shocked that she wasn't in worse condition. Various bandages covered her hands, arms, stomach, and legs. That was obviously due to her crawling through the glass, but that was the one part of this situation that she couldn't bring herself to regret. She wished that she could have done more.

"Spence?"

Her eyes looked up to meet Hanna's startling blue ones. She wasn't surprised to see Caleb there with her. Those two were nearly always together, but she was also friends with Caleb as well. Not as good friends as he and Toby were, but she assumed that he was in her room so that he could be with Hanna. "How's Toby?" She rasped out, her throat hurting from a lack of use.

Hanna rolled her eyes and sat down on the edge of her bed. "You know, that's just like you to be more worried about him than yourself. And he'd probably be the same way."

Her heart sank as Hanna's words confirmed her fears. Toby was still not awake. "Just answer the question, Han."

"No one appreciates small talk these days," Hanna complained, her head tilted in Caleb's direction. Almost immediately the teasing facade left her face and she turned to Spencer with a small frown. "He's still the same Spence. Em and Aria are with him now. I think his dad might be there too."

Spencer shook her head slightly before lifting her eyes and looking at Hanna with determination.

"Oh no, that look scares me a little bit," Hanna muttered nervously.

"I need to see him. I will sneak out of here if I must, but considering I doubt I can walk that well it might be a little easier if you help me." Spencer was completely serious. She didn't care if she had to crawl down the long halls of Rosewood Hospital. She would do it, and she would do it without a second thought.

"You say that like you don't know me at all. I'm always up for stealth and missions," Hanna laughed. "But can we make sure that the doctors aren't okay with it first? This will be a lot easier on a hospital approved field trip with a wheel chair than if we go rogue. I suppose Caleb could give you a piggy back ride, but still. The doctor's approval might make this easiest."

Spencer bit her lip seriously debating whether or not her next words were wise, but she honestly couldn't care less at this point. She needed a doctor to approve this, and she knew that he would if she phrased it properly. "Han, can you go find Wren?"

"Is that the old guy that likes to perv on you guys?" Caleb asked from his chair, speaking for the first time since Spencer had woken up.

Hanna stood up and flounced over to Caleb, pressing a placating kiss to his cheek. "The one and the same. I shall return, my dears."

Caleb watched Hanna leave the room before turning to Spencer. "How are you feeling, Spence?"

She knew he was asking about her physically, but that was secondary to her emotions. "Guilty," she said simply.

He gave her a sympathetic smile. "You know that Toby wouldn't want you to feel this way, right?"

Of course he wouldn't. She wouldn't want him to feel guilty were their situations reversed. But that didn't change that she did, and she thought that it was pretty justifiable. They wouldn't have been up at Lookout Point if it wasn't for her. "I know, but it doesn't change anything," she said simply.

"He'll be fine Spencer. We've all seen the way that he looks at you. If he has any say in it there is no way he's going to leave you."

Caleb's words sent a spasm of pain through her heart. Reminders of how much he loved her almost made this worse because she failed him so badly. She didn't know how to respond to him, but that was okay because shortly after Caleb stopped talking Hanna walked back into the room with Wren on her heels.

"Spencer, what can I do for you?" Wren asked her. The creepy smile on his face made her roll her eyes. Was he ever going to give up hope? They were never going to happen.

She could feel her desperation growing as her means for escape was right in front of her. "I need to see Toby," she said softly.

Wren's smile faded as he took her in. "Spencer, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Please. Please Wren I have to see him. I have to see that he's alright. Please." To her embarrassment tears slowly started to run down her cheeks. The last thing that she wanted to do was to cry in front of Wren, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Her throat constricted with emotion as she tried to wipe away her tears.

"Are you sure you can even handle it?" He asked her softly.

Spencer snorted quietly. "I climbed out the window across broken glass shards and with a broken leg to get the cell phone so I could call 911," she said, not to brag but to convince him that there was nothing that could keep her from Toby. "There is nothing in the world that could stop be from seeing him right now. And if I'm being completely honest I will do this with or without your permission. Your help just might make it a little easier."

Wren hesitated before nodding. "Let me go get you a wheel chair. Hanna do you and your boyfriend want to help her sit up?"

Hanna rolled her eyes at him. Spencer couldn't help but smile at her reaction. Han had never particularly appreciated Wren. "Of course I'll help her. Just hurry up."

As Wren walked out the door Hanna walked over to her and grabbed both of her hands. "That guy's such a creep, Spence."

Spencer would have laughed, but even the slightest movements were making everything hurt a lot. Caleb quickly walked up to Spencer and wrapped his arms around her waist. Together the two of them managed to pull her up into a sitting position just as Wren walked back in with a wheel chair. "You need to leave her IV in, but it's on a wheeled cart. One of you just need to push it behind her. The other should obviously push her wheelchair. Everything else can be unhooked, but don't exert yourself too much. When you get back to your room just call the nurses station and they can get you back on the machines."

Sometimes she felt really bad for how they all made fun of Wren. He was actually a very helpful person to have on their side. But then she remembered how he hit on her and nearly ruined her relationship with her entire family, and then those guilty feelings rapidly disappeared. "Thanks Wren," she murmured.

He gave her a nod and walked out the door. Hanna moved her hands down to Spencer's elbows to give her more support. "Now that the loser is gone, are you ready? This will probably hurt."

"Yes. Just do it fast." Spencer bit her lip in anticipation and dug her nails into her palm. Even the thought of pain was stressing her out a lot.

They moved her so fast and gently that it didn't hurt nearly as badly as she had anticipated, but the pain was still there. They began to push her chair through the door. Spencer quickly closed her eyes and tried to focus on other things. As grateful as she was that they were willing to help her, she didn't like that she needed them. Most people would consider her to be fiercely independent, and they definitely wouldn't be wrong.

When she felt the wheelchair stop she opened her eyes and turned back to look at Caleb, who was pushing her chair. "Spence, are you ready?"

She bit her lip again and nodded. "I have to be."

As her chair went through the door it was as though and happy thoughts were sucked from her mind. And all that she was left with was guilt. Guilt, shame, and regret. This was her fault. Once Caleb had wheeled her close enough she grasped the bedside table and hauled herself into a standing position. She could feel her stitches pulling and her head spinning, but that was all secondary to the pain in her heart.

"Spencer!"

She could feel hands on her arm urging her to sit back down, but that wasn't going to happen. She shook the hands off and took the last shaky hobble that it would take for her to reach his bed. Walking with a full leg cast was a challenge, but it was a challenge that she accepted without hesitation. Her hand held so tightly onto the rail along his bed that her knuckles immediately turned white. After a moment of hesitation her eyes slowly scanned his body and came to rest on his face. At the sight of his bruised and bandaged face her one good knee went weak. She swayed to the side, but Caleb managed to catch her before her face became acquainted with the floor.

Her breathing rocked through her body. Caleb held onto her tighter in response. "Come sit back down Spencer."

She shook her head and pushed away from him. He could have kept a hold of her, but she appreciated that he respected what she wanted. She could feel him lingering close behind her, which was probably a good idea.

After a moment of mental preparation she turned her focus back to Toby. Her fingers reached out to lightly touch the side of his neck. The throbbing of his pulse under her fingers was gratifying, but it wasn't enough. Nothing would be enough until he opened his eyes. He was strong, and she knew that he could recover from almost anything. But not if he didn't wake up.

She bent at her waist and rested her head on his bed. "I'm so sorry, Toby. This is all my fault." Her words were distorted by emotion and muffled by the sheets, so she was fairly sure that no one else heard. She appreciated that because she didn't want to spend any time arguing with them It was her fault, and nothing her friends said would change her mind.

A gentle hand grasped her shoulder and lowered her to a sitting position. This time she didn't protest. She felt nauseous, and this display of emotion was embarrassing enough without the unwelcome addition of her losing her lunch all over unconscious boyfriend.

Her hand slid across the bed and found Toby's. Being careful to avoid the IV she rested her hand on top of his. "Just don't give up Toby. Please keep fighting. I can't... I can't do this without you." She had largely managed to avoid tears, but they were flowing freely now.

She couldn't bring herself to care that her friends were seeing her show weakness. Maybe she would later, but right now all she wanted was for Toby to wake up. She would have given anything in the world for him to open his eyes right now. "I'm so sorry you got hurt. I wish it had been me. It should have been me, and trust me if I could take it from you I would in a heartbeat. Please just... j-just don't leave me."

"Spencer?"

The unexpected voice was enough for her to pause. She turned her head to face him. "Mr. Cavanaugh," she said softly.

His bloodshot eyes mirrored her own as he knelt down on the ground in front of her wheelchair. He carefully took her much smaller hand into both of his. "They told me what you did, how you saved him, and I just- I just wanted to thank you."

Someone had grossly misinformed him, apparently. "No sir, it was my fault. Toby came to pick me up because I had a fight with my dad. It was my fault that we were up there to begin with. I should have just dealt with it on my own and he'd be fine."

A small smile appeared on Mr. Cavanaugh's face. "I haven't been as involved in my son's life as I should have been, but I do know that he would have been more upset that you didn't call him when you were in trouble than he will be able this accident. He loves you Spencer. More than I ever thought possible. God knows I haven't been a good example of love toward the boy. You didn't know him well beforehand so it's harder for you to see the impact that you've had on him. But trust me, the changes are unbelievable. _He loves you._ And he wouldn't want you to be feeling like this."_  
_

Halfway through his speech Spencer had diverted her eyes to look down at the ground. She didn't deserve this. She deserved to be kicked out of the room, not comforted. "I know he loves me. But it's still my fault."

Mr. Cavanaugh grabbed her other hand and waited for her to look at him again before continuing. "How many of these injuries did you have when you woke up in the car?"

She wasn't sure where he was going with this, and she was far too emotional to spend time analyzing his motives. "Just my leg and my head."

He gestured to the bandages on her arms. "So all of these are from...?"

"When the truck stopped the jolt must have knocked my phone out of my pocket and through the window. I had to climb out the window to get the phone so I could call 911. I assume there was some glass, but I was running on adrenaline at that point. I barely remember it," she mumbled. She didn't want to talk about it, but if anyone deserved to know what had happened during the accident it was Toby's father.

"So, you climbed out of a small truck window across shards of class with a concussion and a badly broken leg to make sure that my son got help?"

When he said it like that he made it sound like she did more than she actually did. She did what she had to do. What anyone would have done. She bobbed her head up and down once in response to his question.

Mr. Cavanaugh smiled at her, "You can't control an accident Spencer, but you can control your choices. And it sounds like you chose to be heroic. Now I have to go to work, but you stay here as long as you can, okay? If anyone is going to be able to get him to wake up it will be you."

Spencer watched, speechless, as Mr. Cavanaugh walked through the hospital room door. Her heart felt a little less heavy. The guilt was still present, but maybe he was right. Maybe it wasn't her fault. She could hear her friends talking, but all she cared about right now was Toby. She pulled herself up again and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead.

"I love you, Toby," she murmured, only loud enough for him to hear; if he could even hear. She didn't know what the future held, but her love for Toby felt like the only constant in this screwed up situation. That's what she chose to hang onto.


	7. Chapter 7

**I was going to wait to post this until this evening, BUT OH MY GOD THAT EPISODE OF PLL. THE THING SPENCER DISCOVERED THAT INVOLVED DESSERTS AND ADULT BEVERAGES AND PEOPLE THAT WE'VE BEEN WONDERING ABOUT FOREVER! I don't want to use details in case someone hasn't seen it, but THAT THING. If you watched you know what I mean. I literally screamed a word that I don't feel like using here. OH MY GOD I'm still freaking. And next weeks episode looks AMAZING. I'M FREAKING OUT.**

**But also, that was too many answers. They're going to throw us a twist because that's what PLL does. NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS.**

**OKAY. This chapter... well yeah just read it. Did I lose some of you last chapter? :( I got half as many reviews as I have been. But that's alright because the ones I got were great! But you know... reviews that's nice.**

**The next chapter will be up Saturday-ish, or if I get 10 or more reviews I'll post it as soon as I'm done. It's about halfway done right now. It's up to you!**

**Read and review! AND PM ME IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE PLL THING.**

Chapter 7

SPOV

Two weeks. _Two week. _It had been two weeks since the car accident. She had been recovering in the hospital for two weeks. It had been two weeks since she had last seen Toby's blue eyes.

_Two weeks._

Every single day people go through life altering tragedies, and one of the most common sentiments thrown at them is that life goes on; and that it does. Whilst going through adversity you expect that the entire world comes to a halt, but you quickly find that it's just you. Her homework piled up. The typical gossip and drama could be heard from the nurses. Day time TV still was mind numbingly awful.

Time passed even when it seemed impossible. Each tick of the second hand pulsed along with the painful aching in her heart. Time passed even though it felt like her world was over.

A quick glance at her watch showed her that it was 3:30. Thank God, because that meant that her friends would be there shortly. She didn't know how she would have survived the past two weeks without Hanna and Caleb especially. But Aria and Emily also did a lot to save her sanity. Without them she would have completely given up.

The remote weighed heavy in her hands as she flipped from soap opera to talk show to infomercial. All she wanted was to visit Toby, but she wasn't going to be able to do that without help. They had yet to give her a pair of crutches, and she was pretty sure she had heard one of the nurses mention that she was a flight risk when they thought that she was asleep. Fair point. If she could walk they never would have been able to keep her in her room.

She looked up with an expectant smile when she heard the door to her room open, but she was disappointed when she saw that it was just a nurse. "I have good news for you, sweetie!"

Spencer gave her an apprehensive smile. Somehow she had a feeling that she and this woman had a very different opinion on what was good news. Unless she was going to tell her that Toby was awake nothing else mattered to her. "Yes?"

"As long as all of your tests are normal I was told to tell you that you are free to leave," the nurse cheerfully replied as she wrapped the blood pressure minister around her upper arm.

The whoosh of air rushing into the room chilled her slightly. Her eyes lifted to face her dad. He smirked at her before turning to the nurse. His smirk had instantaneously transformed into the perfect concerned father. "Did I hear you right? My daughter's being released?"

The nurse finished her tests and unhooked Spencer from the IVs. "You did, sir. Just stop by the front desk to fill out some liability paperwork on your way out." She turned to give Spencer one last encouraging smile before departing to check on her other patients.

Mr. Hastings watched her go and firmly shut the door behind her. "When I told you that you'd regret leaving I didn't expect my words to be quite so prolific, but there you have it. Let's go."

Spencer shook her head and looked down at the ground. "I'm not leaving. I need to make sure that Toby's alright."

Her dad turned around and grabbed her arm. "You are not to see that boy any more."

A laugh bubbled up from her stomach and spilled out of her pursed lips. He must have been crazy if he thought that was even a possibility. "You're kidding, right? That's never going to happen."

"Spencer, he punched me. He infringed upon my parenting duties. He's a horrible influence on you and you can do better than him." His tone was even and controlled, but she could see something much more frightening lurking beneath his calm exterior.

She knew that she needed to tread carefully, but she also wasn't going to be bullied by him again. "I don't want anyone else. I'm not leaving until he's awake and I can see that he's okay."

"Spencer." His tone was dripping with an unspoken warning, but she didn't care. He wouldn't hurt her in the hospital, and even if he did her mom and Hanna and Caleb should be here any minute. Maybe the idiot would get himself caught.

"No dad. I'm staying. And you of all people should understand that considering we wouldn't be in here if it wasn't for you."

She regretted her accusation immediately as soon as her dug his fingers into her arm and hauled her off of the bed. Her stitches had been removed, but the cuts were still tender. She tried to yank her arm away, but she was still weak. "How hard do you think it would be for me to get you committed into the psych ward? Once you're there do you think that anyone would believe a word that you said about abuse? It would be my word against yours, and you know how money talks."

It didn't matter how stupid it was. She wasn't leaving, and at least this time she was in a hospital. If he hurt her she'd be able to get help. "I _love _him, and I won't leave him when he needs me. Let me go or I swear to you I'll scream."

He raised his hand as though to hit her. Instead of just waiting for the blow to come she closed her eyes and flinched away. She waited to feel the sting of the impact on her face, but it never came. Mr. Hastings let out a startled yell and released her. There was nothing for her to grab onto so she tumbled to the ground.

A small, soft hand replaced her father's larger, rough one and gently pulled her off to the side. Spencer looked up and her eyes were met with Hanna's concerned gaze. "Are you okay, Spencer?"

This was almost too much. They weren't supposed to find out like this. They actually weren't ever supposed to find out. She could have avoided her father, which in turn would have avoided the embarrassment of having to be rescued by her best friends. She looked up to see Caleb standing in front of her and Hanna looking as though he'd like nothing more than to kick her dad's ass; a sight she would gladly welcome.

She had expected to see Hanna and Caleb. What she hadn't expected was to see her mom. Mrs. Hastings stared at him with an unidentifiable emotion in her eyes. "Were you about to hit our daughter?"

Mr. Hastings took a step toward his wife and reached out to place his hand on his arm, but she stepped back out of his reach. "Actually, you don't have to answer that. Caleb, Hanna, and I saw everything. She's just finally recovering from a near-fatal accident. How dare you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Stop with the hysterics, Veronica. It was just me parenting her. Sometimes Spencer needs a bit of tough love to stay motivated."

She closed her eyes briefly before opening them. A new degree of anger was present within her eyes, and it was honestly a bit gratifying to Spencer. Partially she refrained from telling her mom about her dad's abuse because she was afraid that she'd say that she deserved it. It was good to see that Mrs. Hastings seemed to be on her side.

"Peter you need to leave before I call the police," Veronica Hastings said in a low voice. The anger she was feeling wasn't disguised by her quiet voice. It wasn't often that Spencer saw her mother so angry. Usually she was able to appropriately hide her emotions; something that was necessary for her chosen career.

His eyes widened in shock. "You can't be serious, Veronica. She deserved all of it."

Spencer couldn't help but flinch at his words. Maybe she did deserve it? He was her father. Wasn't he supposed to tell her the truth even when no one else would?

Hanna squeezed her arm and Spencer turned to give her a questioning look. "Has he done this before Spence?"

The room had gone quiet, and Spencer knew that it meant that everyone was listening to her now. She chanced a quick glance at her father. His warning glare almost made her falter, but she had had enough of all of this. What was he going to do to her in a room full of people? "He's hit me twice. The first time you were in D.C. mom. When he was done I walked to Toby's and stayed the night there. The second time was the day of the accident. I called Toby to come get me, and dad came out to confront us. He tried to get physical again, but Toby punched him. And then we got in the accident driving up to Lookout Point."

"Can't you just keep your mouth shut?" Mr. Hastings snapped and took a large step forward as to seem threatening.

Caleb took a small step back so that he was standing directly in front of Spencer and Hanna. "I dare you to take another step. Give me a reason."

"Go Peter." Veronica's face made it obvious that she wasn't playing around. Spencer was slightly concerned about the delicate shade of red that she was turning.

Mr. Hastings looked down at Spencer for another moment. His face was white and his eyes glaring. "Spencer this isn't over. Trust me when I tell you that I'm going to make you regret this."

Hanna pulled Spencer closer to her and glared around Caleb. "I swear to God, Mr. Hastings. I've been relatively calm, but if you stay in here for another second I'm going to scratch your eyes out. And I just got a manicure so you should take that seriously."

Mr. Hastings turned his glare to Hanna before stalking out of the room. As soon as the door shut behind him Caleb turned around and together with Hanna the two of them managed to lift her to the bed. Her mother carefully stepped around them and took both of Spencer's hands in her own. "Why didn't you tell anyone."

She bit her lip and looked down. She didn't know how to answer that question. "I told Toby," she whispered.

"You said he came to get you? And that's why you were in the accident?"

Spencer nodded, "We left right after he punched dad."

Mrs. Hastings lips twitched as she tried not to smile. "It seems as though I owe Toby a debt of gratitude. Lord knows I haven't exactly been quiet with my previous disapproval of your relationship."

Her eyes closed and she tilted her head downward. "Can we go see him? The nurse said I could leave."

Hanna released her waist and walked to the corner of the room the retrieve the hidden wheelchair. Those sneaky little shits. But also those beautiful, intelligent people who knew her way too well. She would have absolutely snuck off to Toby's room in the middle of the day had she had access to the wheelchair.

Caleb grabbed her around the waist and helped her hobble over to the wheelchair. Once she was settled he wordlessly stood behind her and began to push her down the hall. Seriously what a good sport. He probably didn't expect to have to deal with his girlfriend's needy best friend all the time, but she appreciated it more than she knew how to say. "Caleb, thank you," she said just loud enough for him to hear.

She felt as he faltered in his pushing, but he recovered quickly. "You don't have to thank me for anything Spencer."

Under normal circumstances she would have insisted upon thanking him, but as usual, as soon as she entered Toby's room there was no room in her mind for thoughts that were not centered around him. The doctors had said that his brain readings were showing signs of life, but she wasn't sure whether or not they were just saying that to placate her and to stop her panic. They had also said that she should talk to him, that even if he couldn't fully understand words that he could probably recognize specific voices.

Once she was next to his bed she stretched her hand out and placed hers on top of his. "Toby I love you," she murmured.

She felt as a presence came up behind her, but she paid no mind to it because she assumed that it was Hanna. So it caused her to start when her mom began to speak. "Toby, it's Veronica Hastings."

Spencer left her hand in place, but she whipped her head around to take in her mother for the first time. What she saw was rather worrying. Her typically stoic mother had tears pooling in her eyes.

"I don't know if you can hear me, so I will tell you this again when you wake up. I owe you a debt of gratitude for being there for my daughter when I couldn't be. God knows I had my reservations about you, and I feel terrible about that now. You went above and beyond. You kept Spencer safe and you made her feel like she could come to you with this kind of secret. I feel partially responsible for you being here. Had I been a better mother I would have figured out what was going on and put a stop to it, but I assure you that now that I know what's going on it will never happen again. So thank you. And I'm sorry."

"Mom..." Spencer said softly.

Veronica shook her head and placed her hand on top of her shoulder. "I- I have to get back to the office. Let me know if you need anything, okay?" She didn't give anyone a chance to respond before turning and walking out the door. Spencer wished that she had stayed so that they could talk about how this wasn't even marginally her fault, but they could discuss that later. Her eyes left the door and turned back to Toby.

It was strange. She hadn't done much today, but she was completely mentally and physically exhausted. But she wasn't going to say that because Hanna and Caleb would want to take her back to her room. She had to stay with Toby. If she could just sit and watch him all day she would. Now that she had been released maybe she actually could.

She wasn't able to keep her eyes open any longer. She laced her fingers together with Toby's and laid her head down on his bed. "I love you," she murmured again. Before the accident she thought that she was completely full of love for him, but she was so wrong. Her love for him grew with every breath that she took.

She buried her face deeper into the blankets and slowly drifted off to sleep with her hand still connected to Toby's.

* * *

On a typical day she would have been frustrated with herself for falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon, but in this situation she couldn't bring herself to care. She hadn't been sleeping well lately, and every single moment of rest she could get was definitely necessary. Spencer had always prided herself on having a sharp mind. Part of that came from getting an adequate amount of rest. If she couldn't think clearly than what did she have left?

She was stuck in the place in between sleep and consciousness. It felt nice to be able to rest with no worries. She could feel a slow moving weight on her head, but the pull of sleep was too much for her to consider looking upward. It was probably just Hanna checking on her.

As consciousness slowly came back to her it became more obvious that the weight was a hand. The fingers slowing made their way through her tangled hair. It felt nice, so she wasn't able to stop a soft moan from escaping her tired lips.

"Spencer?"

No. She had to be dreaming. It was completely possible that she was still asleep. She had always had incredibly vivid dreams, and there was no way that this was really happening. Not right when she had nearly given up.

She sat up slowly, and her eyes were met by clear ocean blue. Both of her hands lifted to cover her mouth, which would hopefully stop any embarrassing noises from slipping between her pursed lips. Tears welled up in her eyes, but instead of the sad tears that had dominated her emotions the past few weeks, these were tears of joy.

"Toby," she breathed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright my dears! Here is chapter 8! This chapter surprised me in a lot of ways. First, it's basically exclusively fluff. I am not good at fluff, but I think this chapter is okay! Second, this is the longest chapter of writing I've ever produced. Which you should all appreciate!**

**Okay, can I just say something to people who will appreciate it!? The more I watch the PLL promo for next week the more excited I get. IT LOOKS SO FREAKING GOOD! But like also, IT'S ONE WEEK CLOSER TO SHADOW PLAAAAY! Our long awaited Spoby-centric episode. And let's be real. Troian should always walk around in clothes from that era and demand that she exclusively be shot in black and white because she looks INCREDIBLE. I am so excited. Okay this is all!**

**The next chapter should be up MAYBE Monday. But Tuesday morning at the latest. I have GOT to get a ton done on my thesis this weekend so I won't have time to write much, which is why you're getting this early! LOVE IT! And I will talk to you on Monday, HOPEFULLY. SEND ME HAPPY THESIS WRITING THOUGHTS.**

**Please review and let me know what you think! Or what you want to see! You never know, your reviews might influence me, because I don't have any more of this pre-written! Just a semi-detailed outline.**

**Also, for those of you asking for Haleb, they'll be in the next chapter!**

Chapter 8

SPOV

_She sat up slowly, and her eyes were met by clear ocean blue. Both of her hands lifted to cover her mouth, which would hopefully stop any embarrassing noises from slipping between her pursed lips. Tears welled up in her eyes, but instead of the sad tears that had dominated her emotions the past few weeks, these were tears of joy._

_"Toby," she breathed._

Sometimes you see things and you automatically believe that they're too good to be true, and this was absolutely one of those moments. An embarrassing whimper escaped from her lips. Her hand reached out and she lightly pressed her trembling fingers to his warm cheek. "You're okay," she whispered. Her smile grew wider than she thought possible.

"I- What happened?" he murmured, his voice soft and raspy from a lack of use.

Spencer bit down hard on her lip to hold back the sob that threatened to spill over. She turned to look over her shoulder and smiled slightly at the sight of Hanna and Caleb asleep sitting on the ground with their backs to the wall cuddled up together. They played tough, but they were basically the two most adorable people in the world.

After two weeks of not hearing Toby's voice it was almost too much to have him laying there speaking to her and looking at her like nothing ever happened. Like her bad choices hadn't almost killed him. "What do you remember?"

"Y-you didn't meet me after school and I was worried; maybe panicked is a better word. Aria said you had ran out of class and that you looked really upset; which did nothing to ease my concern. While I was on my way to your house to look for you there you called me, and then we had a confrontation with you dad." He licked his lips and coughed slightly to clear his throat.

Because she knew him so well it didn't take much for her to realize that he was thirsty. Her arms still ached, but that wasn't going to stop her from getting him what he needed. She backed the wheelchair carefully up and reached on the nightstand to grab the half full glass of water. The nurses had continued to refill his water pitcher. It seemed irresponsible to her environmentalist side, but now she was grateful for the gallons of wasted water. It was much easier to back up a few feet than to hunt down a nurse.

The movement of the wheelchair caught Toby's eyes. "What happened to you, Spencer?" His voice was worried and confused.

Spencer rolled back to him and passed him the glass of water. Before taking a drink he adjusted his body so that he was sitting up a bit straighter.

"Hey, don't hurt yourself," she said softly. She wished she could speak in her normal tone, but she didn't want to wake up Hanna and Caleb. They had been there for her every minute of the last two weeks, and they needed sleep as much as she did.

"Spencer are you okay? Tell me what happened," he said seriously as he reached for her hand. Since he was on the bed he couldn't stretch all that far so Spencer met his hand halfway. He took a small sip of water before setting it down, turning all of his focus onto her.

She slowly laced their fingers together and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. This was a moment that she had been dreading for a long time. Her eyes moved down to their interlocked hands and she took in a deep breath. "The same thing that happened to you. We were in a car accident."

"Was I driving?" He asked her hesitantly.

Spencer's eyes whipped up to his face. She knew where this was going and she wasn't about to allow this train of thought to go on another second. "Yes, but it was absolutely not your fault, so you can get off the guilt trip right now," she said firmly.

His eyes lingered down on her leg for a moment before looking back up at her. "Spencer..."

"No. Toby, no don't go there. If anything this was my fault for bringing you in to my screwed up family situation. I should have just dealt with everything on my own. I'm so so-"

This time Toby cut her off, "No Spencer, stop. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you, and you know that. If this is the price that had to be paid to get you away from your dad then I'm fine with it."

She couldn't stop herself from laughing. His words didn't change how she felt about the situation, but it was just so him. How could she have thought for a second that he would have said anything else?

Toby's thumb brushed across the back of her hand. "What's so funny?"

Her eyes met his and her small smile instantly transformed into a grin. "I just missed you so much."

His other hand reached out. He could barely reach her, but the tips of his fingers ran along her jaw. "How long has it been?"

"Two weeks. Two long, unbelievably awful weeks," she sighed and leaned a little into his hand. Feeling him touch her again might have been the best feeling in the world. It was certainly far above anything she had felt recently. This day started out so terribly, but it was quickly transforming into one of the best of her life. He was awake, and it felt like nothing could ever go wrong again.

Toby closed his eyes for a moment before nodding. It was rather overwhelming, and she could understand his need for a momentary pause. "Can you tell me what happened? What you remember? I want to remember, but I just can't."

She hesitated, not really wanting to relive that day. "Are you sure? You weren't really conscious for very long, so I'm not sure how much you're going to remember."

"Please Spence, I need to know," he said with a degree of desperation.

Well, if she was going to recount this again she was going to have to be closer to him. She gritted her teeth, hauled herself upward, and hopped until she maneuvered herself to the side of his bed that wasn't blocked by a bar. Toby realized what she was doing and slid over to ensure that she had enough space. She wasn't very good at moving with a full leg cast and no crutches, but after a moment of effort and one near fall she managed to climb onto the bed and slide back so that she was sitting next to Toby.

He responded immediately by wrapping his arm around her side and pulling her down so she was leaning against him. She purposely made sure to withhold most of her weight, not wanting to cause him any discomfort. He reached around with his other arm and gently grabbed her free hand. He buried his face against the top of her head. "Please, Spence," he murmured into her hair.

Spencer shivered and nodded. "Okay. But then I don't want to ever talk about it again."

Toby nodded and pressed his lips to the top of her head. "I promise. We'll forget it ever happened as soon as you catch me up."

"We had gotten to the top of the hill leading up to Lookout Point and a yellow SUV came out of nowhere. It hit us head on and pushed us through the guardrail and over the edge. You tried to hold me back, but we were spinning so much. I think I must have broken my leg right away because I passed out pretty fast."

She felt him nod. "Right, I think I remember. You passed out before I did, but before I could help you something slammed into my head and I passed out too."

Spencer took in a sigh of relief thinking that they were done, but she should have know that it wasn't going to be quite that easy. His hand moved from hers and wrapped lightly around her wrist, pulling her arm out straight. "How did you get all of these cuts?"

Oh God, she forgot about that. He wasn't going to like that story. But he almost died. There was no way she was going to be able to lie to him right now. "It doesn't matter," she mumbled, hoping that he would drop it. Someone else would tell him the truth eventually, but it didn't have to be her.

"Spence, what happened? Was it your dad?" His tone was saturated with worry, and she could feel him getting agitated.

An awkward conversation wasn't worth that. A nurse would just come in and make her leave; she wouldn't go, but getting into a fight with a nurse wasn't an ideal way to spend her reunion with her boyfriend. She was just going to have to tell him. "No," she sighed. "I woke up before you did, and it was more that obvious that you needed help right away. But my phone had fallen out of my pocket and out the window. I could see it and I knew that I would be able to get to it."

She paused to collect herself. The anxiety, pain, and fear were so recent that they threatened to overwhelm her. Her heart rate was increasing to the point that she was sure that he could feel it too. She turned her face and hide it in Toby's side. A deep breath of his scent and a moment of reminding herself that he was awake and he was okay was enough to give her the courage to continue. "The window had broken at some point so it was easy to get out of. I didn't have a problem fitting. The problem was that there were remnants of broken glass in the window and along the path I had to take to get to the phone. I was running on adrenaline so I didn't really feel it, but my arms, legs, and stomach got cut up pretty badly."

His grip in her tightened. The hand that was on arm moved to the side of her head and pulled it to her shoulder. She could feel him shaking, which concerned her. "You- you climbed out of a w-window with a broken leg across piles of shards of g-glass?" he stammered.

His voice was filled with emotion. Spencer gently pulled away and placed a hand on either side of his face. "Yes. I did, and I would do it again. I had to help you."

Toby's hands quickly moved to rest on top of hers. He wrapped his fingers around them and pulled them down into the space between them, interlocking their fingers. "Why? Why would you hurt yourself for me?"

She gave him an incredulous stare and tilted her head to the side. "Are you seriously asking me that? Tell me something. Would you have done it for me? Would you have risked a very inconsequential injury to save my life?"

"Spencer," he whispered and leaned his forehead against hers. The rough edges of his bandages scratched at her face, but she didn't care. All that she cared about was that he was awake. "Spence, I- of course I would. Without hesitating. But I wish you hadn't had too."

"I know," she said simply. Her eyes moved down to eye his lips, and suddenly she couldn't hold herself back. She had to kiss him. She stretched her neck upward to the extent that he would barely have to move. She licked her lips before gently pressing her lips to his.

He responded immediately, deepening the kiss and molding their bodies together. The beeping of his heart monitor increased. Oh that's inconvenient. It would be really awkward to have a nurse walk in on them like this. Spencer pulled away with sigh. "You need to get better, because I'm not sure how long I can go without kissing you."

Toby chuckled and pulled her back against his side. This time she let him take on a bit more of her weight. He seemed to be doing pretty well for someone who had just woken up from an involuntary two week nap. Toby hesitantly pressed another kiss to her head. "I need to ask you something else," he said softly.

Spencer turned and buried her face in the folds of his hospital gown. She didn't want to think about anything else. She just wanted to sit here with Toby and ignore the outside world. It didn't take much to guess what he was going to ask her about, and there was nothing in the world that she wanted to talk about less.

And because he was Toby he could feel her agitation and did his best to placate her. His calloused hand ran over her cheek and through her hair in a seamless and soothing motion. "What's going on with your dad? Has he tried anything else?" His calm voice was colored with hints of anger. The fact that his anger was showing at all was a clear indication of the wrath that was brewing beneath the surface. That was how the two of them were. Spencer always wanted to seem so strong, but Toby saw through her with ease. And Toby wanted to hide when he was upset or hurting from Spencer, but it never worked. They were too connected for trivial secrets like that.

Spencer chewed on her lower lip, trying to think of how to appropriately answer that question. But Toby didn't give her the chance. "I'm taking your silence as a yes. What did he do, Spencer? God, if he hurt you again I'll-"

She moved her face slightly so that the fabric of his gown didn't muffle her words. "Toby calm down. Your nurse missed her calling as a drill sergeant. If she comes in here and sees you upset she'll make me leave, and that's the last thing either of us need right now."

She felt his tense body wilt against her. His hand moved down to her bare shoulder. The warmth of his hand against her cool skin caused goosebumps to erupt down the entirety of her arm. "Spencer. Baby, please just tell me what happened. I promise after this I won't speak for the rest of the night."

Spencer giggled slightly, but didn't alter her position at all, drawing comfort from his strong embrace. "No you have to keep up a constant stream of chatter or else I'm going to start believing that this isn't real. The past two weeks I've just sat here praying that you'd wake up. And now that you are I need constant reminders."

Toby began to methodically trail his fingers in a line from her shoulder to her elbow. "I'm sorry for leaving you," he said after a short pause.

"You didn't. You were here, but you weren't. It wasn't your fault." She took a deep breath and snuggled deeper into his side. "And as for my dad. I was released this afternoon, and he tried to get me to leave with him. But I obviously wasn't having that. Not just because it was him, but also because I have no intentions of leaving this hospital before you are able to as well. He yanked me off of the bed, and I said what was, in retrospect, some very stupid stuff. He tried to hit me again, but Caleb, Hanna, and my mom had gotten there right then. Caleb managed to pull him off before he could hit me, and my mom made him leave."

To his credit, Toby didn't even falter for a moment. His hand kept up his trail along her arm without hesitation. "Are you okay?" It was as though he was holding back any further discussion until he figured that out.

She held her arm out to check. Between the chaotic events of the day she hadn't really been able to assess any damage. Four small, finger-shaped bruises had blossomed along the center of her arm, but other than that it seemed she had escaped the altercation relatively unscathed. "I'm fine," she murmured, starting to feel tired again. "What about you? Has anyone checked on you? I could go find a nurse."

His arms tightened around her immediately. "No, don't leave me."

It was sweet, really. She was used to seeing Toby be kind, loyal, and protective. But vulnerable was something new. "Hey. I'm not going anywhere, but you need to get checked out."

He pressed a soft kiss to her temple without loosening up his arms. "A nurse came in before you woke up and she said that I was doing alright. She also said that you've been in here for a majority of the time that I've been out. Spencer, you need to sleep."

She groaned and lifted her head to give him a faux-annoyed glare. "How did you just turn this on me? But I am a little tired. Maybe now I'll actually be able to sleep knowing that you're okay."

Toby leaned down to press a quick kiss to her lips and gently brushed his hand down her neck. He didn't give her a chance to deepen it before pulling away and pressing his forehead to hers. "I love you, Spencer."

She closed her eyes and tried to hold back her emotions. The past two weeks had been full of fear the likes of which she had never before known. She knew that she loved Toby, and she knew that she was going to always love Toby. But what this accident taught her was just how deep that love went. Toby wasn't just the love of her life, but he was also absolutely everything to her. She couldn't live without him; not any more. "I love you too. So much."

His hand lightly found it's way to her neck and pulled her head down to his shoulder. "Sleep, Spence. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Are you sure you have enough room? I could sleep on the chair," she mumbled. If he needed more room he had better speak up soon because she was going to fall asleep.

His hand tightened marginally around her upper arm to hold her in place, "Sometimes I think you forget how small you are," he laughed tiredly and rested his head on top of hers. "Sleep."

An incoherent mumble was all the noise that she could manage. Sleep had been hard to come by, but maybe now, with Toby by her side, she'd be able to relax and escape the nightmares. Her eyes slid shut and the sleep overcame her.

* * *

She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but what she did know was that she hadn't been able to relax this comfortably in a long time. Toby was awake and it felt like nothing could ever go wrong again.

"Do you want me to wake Spencer up?"

His voice sent a shot of happiness through her heart. It wasn't a dream. He really was okay.

"No, don't bother her. Besides, I came to speak with you."

Spencer had planned on opening her eyes and letting them know that she was awake, but her mother's presence had shocked her into silence. What was she doing there? She buried her face into Toby's side. His hand responded to her movement by cupping her cheek and stroking it with his thumb.

"What's up, Mrs. Hastings?" His voice sounded fairly normal, which was encouraging. Maybe he wouldn't have to stay here all that long.

"I just need to thank you Toby. I let my daughter down, and you stepped up and took care of her when I couldn't."

Spencer noted the emotion in her mother's voice with a certain degree of alarm. As a lawyer Veronica Hastings had a lot of practice keeping her emotion and feelings out of things. The fact that she wasn't able to do that right now was shocking her.

Toby arm tightened around her as he pressed his face into her hair. She could understand that. She certainly drew strength from his presence. "Mrs. Hastings, you don't have to thank me for that. I love your daughter, and I would do anything for her. I just wish she had told me that it was her dad hurting her earlier."

Mrs. Hastings laughed softly, "Well, you know Spencer. She's incredibly stubborn and loyal, even when someone doesn't deserve it. But I do have to thank you. I can't imagine how differently this might have gone had you not been there to help her. I know I don't show it well, but my daughters are my world. I love my husband, but he's obviously not the person I thought that he was."

A moment ago the guilt over eavesdropping had almost convinced her to let them know that she was awake, but the guilt quickly transformed to a swell of emotion. Throughout her entire life she had never heard her mother tell her that she loved her.

"Mrs. Hastings, thank you isn't necessary. Just keep him away from Spencer and everything will be fine. If he hurts her again I'm not going to be able to control myself."

Usually Spencer really hated being protected. She wasn't a damsel in distress that needed saving, but there was something about Toby's caveman act that she found very attractive.

Her mother sighed, "That brings me to my next point. I'm worried he's going to show up at the house. I doubt he will be violent if they aren't alone together, but I don't want to make her uncomfortable or scared. Do you think she could stay with you for a few days? I already talked to Hanna and Caleb, and they said they'd be willing to stay with you as well. I wasn't sure of the extent of your injuries, but perhaps the two of you might need extra help. And I'll buy anything you kids might need."

Toby chuckled, "Of course. They know they can stay with me whenever they need to. And it would honestly make me feel better anyway."

"Okay. I have one more question. I'm going to try to get a restraining order through this afternoon, but I need to know what happened. I don't really want to ask Spencer. Did she share anything with you that may be helpful?"

He adjusted his arms slightly before speaking. From the way his voice sounded she knew that he was looking at her. His hand reached out and brushed the hair off of her face. "The first time was the night after we went to a party about three weeks ago. She had a little too much to drink, but she wasn't drunk or anything. Just happy. I drove her home and offered to walk her inside, but she insisted she was fine. You can imagine how I regret that now."

His voice dripped of guilt and it was all that she could do not to comfort him. But waking up now would make for an awkward situation. She could comfort him later. That wasn't even a little bit his fault.

He blew out a puff of air before continuing. "I went to bed as soon as I got home. She ended up showing up to my loft a few hours later. She had walked in the rain and was soaking wet and freezing. I made her take a shower before talking to me. You can't imagine my reaction when I saw her bruises."

Mrs. Hastings coughed slightly, "Can you tell me where he hurt her?"

Toby's hand moved to her hair, methodically running her fingers through it. "I noticed the bruises on her arm first. It looked like he had squeezed her arm tightly enough to leave a hand print shaped bruise. I went to touch her face, but she flinched away from me. At first I thought she was embarrassed, but then I noticed how she had purposely brushed her hair in front of her face. I pushed it back her the right side of her face was literally purple. After that I went to get her some ice and she fell asleep before I could question her about it. I just laid there for awhile holding the ice onto her arm and coming as close to considering murder as I ever have."

If he kept doing that thing with his hand she was going to fall asleep again. He took a deep breath before finishing his story. "The next time was a week later. She had left school without talking to me or her friends, which she never does. So I was worried. I was headed to your house to look for her there, but she called me while I was on my way. She was crying, sobbing, and I just knew that it was her dad who was hurting her. I got there a few minutes later and found her curled up in a ball against your kitchen island. Her face was bruised and bleeding, and her arm was swelling fast. I wanted to kill your husband, and I probably would have if Spencer wasn't there. He interrupted us before I could get her out. When he tried to grab her I saw red and punched him. Then we left and had our accident."

"Not a lot of people would have done what you did, Toby. Thank you. I know you said it wasn't necessary, but it is. We don't know how far he would have gone had you not been there. You may very well have saved her life."

"I love her," he said simply. "I love her more than I ever thought was possible. Before I met your daughter my life was just so full of sadness. My mom was the only person who loved me before Spencer, but she didn't love me enough to stick around. She killed herself and I was completely alone in the world until Spencer decided to tutor me in French. She- she saw me when I was still invisible; when I didn't mean anything to anyone, and I love her more than I even know how to express to you. This was nothing. I would do anything for her. _Anything. _ She's all I have."

Spencer had to bite down on her lip to hold back a sob. What did she ever do to deserve him?

"Well, you don't have to worry about my disapproval anymore," Mrs. Hastings said softly. "I need to get back to the office. Can you let her know that I was here?"

"Of course," Toby replied.

She felt a cold hand briefly rest on her face, and a few seconds later the soft thud of a shutting door reached her ears. Toby's head nuzzled down on top of hers. "How long have you been awake?"

Spencer laughed and pulled away so that she could look at him. "Damn it! I thought I was being stealthy."

He smiled and leaned in to meet her lips with his own. "You never move when you're asleep. It's like you're dead to the world. I've definitely checked to make sure you were still breathing a few times. For the past few minutes you've been squirmy."

"Since you asked my mom if you should wake me up," she said softly. Her hand found his on the bed. "When I first met you I had no idea how important you would be to me. But now I look at you and I'm not afraid of anything. God Toby, I love you too."

And in that moment, as they laid on his hospital bed together, if felt like everything was fine. Like nothing could ever go wrong again; not while they had each other.


	9. Chapter 9

**I have some things to say! First, you guys are wonderful, brilliant, beautiful, and I LOVE YOU. I wrote this between study breaks, so it's a bit shorter. But still pretty full of awesome. AND HALEB. For those of you who were asking.**

**Secondly, if ****you haven't yet, go check out my new story Unchained Melody! I just posted the first chapter earlier, and I'm pretty excited about it! This story is still my priority, but that one WILL get written!**

**Third, this is honestly one of my favorite chapters and I'm not sure why!**

**Happy Reading! The next chapter is done and will either be up on Thursday or when I get 10 reviews! **

Chapter 9

SPOV

She couldn't count the number of times that she had heard someone say that everything in life happens for a reason. In the past she had thought that it was an incredibly condescending and insensitive statement to make to someone who had suffered a setback, but the past month had really transformed her opinion on the phrase.

The circumstances that she had lived through were enough to break most people, but surprisingly she felt stronger than ever. It was as though before her father had begun the abuse she had been fitted with blinders. The blessings that she had been showered with were lost on her. But now, after almost losing everything that mattered to her, they were more than apparent to her. Her friends, her mom, Toby, her financial status; she had everything a girl could possibly need, and nothing her father did could change any of that.

"Spence, mushroom and onion, right?" Hanna asked loudly, interrupting her from her thoughts.

Spencer smirked a bit. Hanna hates mushrooms, so it's kind of cute that she's going to eat them. Usually you couldn't make Hanna do anything that she didn't want to do, but apparently she was willing to make pizza topping sacrifices occasionally. "We can do another veggie if you'd rather, Han. I know how much you love mushrooms!"

Hanna tried to hold back a laugh, but it ended up sounding like something along the lines of a snort and a hacking cough. "Oh thank God. I try to stay away from fungus. I don't like the idea of mold swimming around in my belly. I read in Cosmo that's how you get polio or something."

She didn't even want to touch Hanna's logical fallacy, but Caleb had no such reservation. "Hanna, I think you need to spend more time paying attention in Biology!"

Hanna shrugged, "I never really liked Biology much. Who cares why a cell divides? It just does."

Spencer shook her head and smirked at Toby. He raised his eyebrows in response and patted the seat next to him as an indication that she should join him. Oh man, what a hardship. She laughed, put her crutches back under her arms, and awkwardly hobbled over to the couch to sit down next to him. Spencer was good at a lot of things, but walking gracefully on crutches wasn't her strong point.

"You know, it's almost gratifying to see you do something less than perfectly," he murmured, pressing his lips to her neck.

She giggled and wriggled away from him. "Are you trying to make Hanna and Caleb to make fun of us?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but she wasn't done yet. "Furthermore, I just need practice. You watch and see, I'll be an expert crutchateer by the time they take this cast off."

His eyebrows raised humorously, "Crutchateer?"

"I have gotten straight A's in AP English for the past four years. I think I perfectly within my rights and qualified to invent a word when I find that the English language is lacking!" She laughed and reached for his hand. Despite the two days that have passed since Toby woke up, she still didn't feel okay being far away from him. The only way she had any hope of keeping him safe was if she stayed with him. And considering the fact that he's let her get further away than arms reach maybe one time, he probably felt the same way. She didn't need a babysitter, but if it made him feel better she would stay close to him. It helped her fulfill her ulterior motives of looking after him anyway.

"Caleb! Do you ever just look at two people, like I'm not thinking of any two specific people here, and just want to vomit and punch them in the face because of their epic adorableness?" Hanna's loud voice chimed in from her spot on the floor.

Spencer laughed and kicked her leg up on the couch to elevate it and leaned with her back against Toby for support. "Yes Han, because I'm sure that was a completely hypothetical statement."

"Alright, I don't know what hypothetical means, but it definitely sounds like a bad thing so I'm going to go ahead and ignore it. I ordered the pizza while you guys were busy being cute. I would ask if green peppers and onions were okay, but I already ordered so I think that you should probably accept it." Her voice was abnormally excited.

Apparently Caleb had noticed too. "Hanna are you really enjoying making fun of them or are you just pumped about the pizza?" He laughed and tossed a pillow at her when she wasn't looking.

"Carbs and I haven't been friends in awhile, but if there's ever a time to be reacquainted it's right now!" That's true, they did deserve carbs after everything they had done for her and Toby. Everyone just seemed kind of tired.

Rain pounded on the roof of Toby's loft as she snuggled deeper into him, trying to borrow some of his warmth. The boy was like a space heater. It was actually something she found interesting. Why were boys always so much warmer than girls? He chuckled and grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch, wrapping it tightly around her thin shoulders. "Better?"

She nodded, leaning her head back to rest it in the crook of his neck. And it really was. Somehow he always knew exactly what she needed even if she had yet to realize it herself.

"Should we watch a movie?" Toby's word's vibrated through his chest and through her own body, offering a new level of connection. Could they just stay like this forever?

"Yes! Harry Potter! I've had a Harry Potter craving for like sixteen years!" Hanna didn't wait for permission from everyone else before snagging off of Toby's shelf and popping it into his DVD player.

"Misuse of the word craving, Han!" Spencer sang and swiveled her body to face the tv. It didn't seem worthwhile to mention that it was unlikely that she had been wanting to watch Harry Potter since she was two. She hiked her leg up on the ottoman and sighed in relief. This cast was much heavier than she anticipated and was causing her leg to cramp up.

Two calloused, cool hands wrapped around her thigh, just above where the cast ended, and began to massage her tired muscles. She couldn't hold back a soft moan at the heavenly feeling. "Toby, I'm starting to wonder if you can read my mind," she murmured as she laid her head back against the couch.

He chuckled as he pressed a quick kiss to her temple. "It didn't take much, Spence. You were glaring at your leg like you were ready to go grab my hacksaw and get rid of it. That cast has to weigh like ten pounds; I'm surprised that it's taken you this long to mutiny against your leg."

She snorted, "I'd certainly be more interesting that way. Would you still love me if I only had one leg?"

His hands paused momentarily as lifted one to brush her hair back from her face. His chapped lips briefly met hers, and she could feel him smiling. "I can't imagine there's anything in the world that could make me love you less. But let's not test it. I'm rather fond of that particular appendage."

"Ah, so you admit it! You're a legs kind of guy," She laughed as he returned his hands to the top of her leg. Toby had always told her that she was beautiful, sure. But he starkly refrained from commenting on specific parts of her body; always the gentleman, he said he didn't want her to think that he only enjoyed her appearance. As if there was any chance of that. He showed her how much he loved her in everything he did. But it was kind of exciting to get him admit that he liked her legs. There was something rather sensual about the whole situation. Part of her wanted to drag him to his room right now, but the more logical part of her knew what a terrible idea that would be. Hanna and Caleb would never let them live it down. Plus there was pizza on the way. She really liked pizza.

Before he had a turn to reply Hanna spoke from her spot on the ground. "Spencer, stop being all annoyingly humble. You basically have the best legs in the world. You're enough to turn a gay man or a straight girl into a leg person. Let's be honest here."

Spencer opened her mouth to reply, but never got the chance to do so. Hanna scrambled up from her spot on the floor and placed her hand over top of her mouth. "I love you, but you need to shut up! You're interrupting quality time with the one true love of my life."

"Aw that's sweet Han, but I don't think we should have _quality time_ with these two in the room. They might learn something, but I don't think my eyes could handle it later," Caleb teased.

Hanna turned to him, her face creased in very convincing mock-confusion. "What are you talking about? Because I meant Ron Weasley! I love that little ginger. Hashtag awkward."

For a second all that could be heard in the room was hysterical laughter. Spencer bent at her waist and trying to control her giggles to the point that she could actually breath. "Oh my God, Han!" She glanced up at her friends on the floor and the offended look on Caleb's face was enough to bring about the return of the laughing fit.

Hanna giggled and leaned over to kiss him. "I'm just kidding. You know I love you. But let's be honest, Ron Weasley can seriously rock those gorgeous ginger locks! Spencer, some back up?"

"Sorry, Han. Only got eyes for one back here." She laughed apologetic and turned Toby with a smile.

His hand was already on the side of her neck, tilting her head upward for easier access to her mouth. "I love you."

"You're pretty okay, yourself," she whispered before firmly pressing their lips together. They broke apart with a start at the sound of loud knocking coming from the door to the outside.

"Pizza!" Hanna cheered and shot up from her place on the ground. A wave of jealousy worked its way through Spencer as she watched her best friend lithely prance to the front door. It hadn't even been that long, but she missed being able to walk normally; six more weeks of itchy plaster induced hell awaited her before she would be able to regain a fully functioning leg.

"I can get plates and stuff," she said softly, reaching across the couch for her crutches.

Toby quickly reached out and wrapped his hand around her wrist pulling her back to him. "You can barely walk Spence. I got it."

She rolled her eyes, but complied only because he was right. It was more likely that she'd trip and break every plate in the loft then she would get back to the coffee table unscathed.

He returned at the same time as Hanna did with the pizza. Caleb grabbed the plates from Toby and started dishing out the pizza. Typically Spencer tried to eat healthy, but this was one of those days that she just needed some carbs and cheese. They got veggies as the topping, which was definitely a step in the right direction. But she should probably be eating salad considering she isn't going to be able to exercise for awhile.

"Spencer don't blow an aneurysm. It's just some cheese," Toby laughed and held her plate underneath her nose.

Spencer rolled her eyes and took a large bite. She wouldn't be herself if she didn't over analyze every little move that she made.

"Delicious, delicious, fattening cheese!" Hanna laughed with her mouth full.

Before they were able to get too into the pizza a knock sounded at the front door. Confused glances were exchanged by all before Hanna shrugged and stood up. "Maybe I forgot to sign the receipt." She walked over to the door and opened it with a smile.

As soon as Hanna had a chance to take in whoever was on the other side of the door her smile slide off of her face in an almost comical manner. "What are you doing here?"

Incoherent mumbling was all she could hear from her spot on the couch, which only caused her concern to grow. Who the hell was at the door? Caleb stood up and walked over to check it out, and when he saw who it was he grabbed Hanna's arm and pushed her behind him. "You need to leave."

"I'll leave once I've said what I have to say."

Her heart stopped and her blood ran cold when she heard his voice. Was he seriously stupid enough to come here? Spencer's eyes stayed trained on the door as her father walked through.

He immediately scanned the room until his eyes came to rest on her. "Spencer, we need to talk."


	10. Chapter 10

**Holy shit you guys! Holy shit! YOU ARE AMAZING. I love that people actually like this story. Did I seriously just get 10 reviews in a day and a half!? Sorry I didn't notice this sooner, or I would have posted this as soon as it happened. I LOVE YOU! Keep up the reviewing. Since this happened so fast I think I can still swing the next chapter by Thursday! Friday at the latest! And if for some reasons I get 10 reviews again, I will just upload the next chapter as soon as I'm done with it.**

**BEST READERS EVER. Okay, I hope you like this chapter!**

Chapter 10

SPOV

_Her heart stopped and her blood ran cold when she heard his voice. Was he seriously stupid enough to come here? Spencer's eyes stayed trained on the door as her father walked through._

_He immediately scanned the room until his eyes came to rest on her. "Spencer, we need to talk."_

Spencer opened her mouth but immediately shut it again. Why was he here? What more could he possibly want to take from her?

"No," Toby's firm voice snapped from behind her. "No you need to leave right now."

"Not until I get out what I need to say," her father said desperately. He grasped onto the back of a chair and ran a frustrated hand over his balding head. "Listen to me Spencer."

Shivers worked their way through her body that had nothing to do with the chill in the air. She hated her father for doing this to her. She had always prided herself on being strong, but right now fear was the predominant emotion running through her ice cold veins. As much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, she was afraid.

"Spencer, do you want me to make him leave?" Caleb was often sarcastic, funny, and uncommonly kind. But today his voice was saturated by a righteous anger. She had no doubt in her mind that Caleb would destroy her father right now she she had asked him to. Too bad all of the air had left her lungs along with her ability to speak.

Shaky, painful breaths rocked through her body as she tried to calm down enough to tell him to leave. A cool hand gently grasped either of her trembling upper arms. Toby's hot breath warmed her neck as he leaned in to whisper to her. "Breath. Just breath. I love you, everything will be fine. I promise that I won't let him hurt you again. Breath."

She felt some of the tension evaporate, but she wasn't going to be able to relax fully until they were alone again. She tilted her head back so it was resting against his chest and closed her eyes briefly.

Hanna glanced between Spencer and over to Mr. Hastings several times. "Mr. Hastings go before we call the police. You aren't welcome here."

"I will as soon as you all shut up long enough for me to talk. Spencer open your damn eyes and look at me," Mr. Hastings said in a voice that was a cross between anger and desperation.

Toby's hands on her arms tightened marginally and huffed out a breath. "Talk to her like that again and I will have no problem coming over there and kicking your ass."

Mr. Hastings continued to speak as though Toby hadn't spoken. "I came here because I needed to explain something to you. I'm not going to apologize for hitting you. I assure you that if I were to stay here I would probably do it again. Sometimes I think that you just need some tough love. If someone pushes you then you will be able to accomplish anything in the world. You're so smart, but you're just unmotivated. And sometimes fear of pain is just the best motivator." He glanced down at her with wide, earnest eyes. She didn't doubt the sincerity in his words, but she couldn't believe that he admitted that he would hit her again.

Toby's rough fingers ran down her back, tracing the bumps of her spine. She could just feel his desire to force her father to leave. Part of her wished that he'd do it, but a larger part of her felt gratitude that he was allowing her to deal with it on her own. "I believe you, but I think you need to leave now," she mumbled softly.

His eyes flashed with anger as he took in her words and she automatically flinched away. He pulled out the kitchen chair and kicked his feet up on the table. "You see, the thing is, I can't do that."

"Why's that?" Toby's angry voice vibrated through her. He drew her closer and wrapped an arm around her waist as though to hold her back. Although, she had a sneaking suspicion that he was the one who needed to be held back. What was she going to do? Trip and kick him with her cast?

"Because I need money. My wife froze the accounts, but I'm sure that she didn't freeze yours Spencer. Give me your debit card and I'll get out of here." He leaned forward, took his feet off of the table and held out his hand.

Spencer took a closer look at him. The beads of sweat pooling on his forehead and rolling down the side of his face and his shaky hands were sure signs of a degree of desperation of the likes that she had never before seen from him. The desperation combined with the anger created a dangerous scenario. If she had what he wanted she would give it him. Unfortunately she didn't have what he wanted. "She took mine too. She's changing the accounts and needed my debit card and check book."

"Cash then. Give me cash!" He stood up, the desperation evident on his face in ways that it previously was not.

Hanna reached into Spencer's purse on the table and pulled out her wallet. She pulled out $10. Then she pulled $20 out of her own. "This is all we have, but you're welcome to it if you just leave."

A loud, sarcastic laugh bubbled up from Mr. Hastings stomach and exploded from his lips in a fit of hysteria. "Thirty dollars?! You think thirty dollars is going to help me get out of this God forsaken town before my wife ends up selling me out to the police for doing my job as a parent? Not a chance. No, I need more."

Caleb stood up and walked to stand in front of Mr. Hastings. "Well, that's all we have. Take it if you want, but you need to leave. I'm not going to ask you again."

His laughter had not quite subsided as he reached into his waistband and pulled out a shiny handgun. "No, I'm not going to tell you again. I need the money, and I need it now."

Caleb immediately lifted his hands and backed away slowly until he was standing in front of Hanna. He grabbed onto her wrist and pulled them both to the ground, making sure to keep himself between Hanna and Mr. Hastings.

A small, strangled gasp erupted from Toby. And before she realized what was happening he pulled her backwards and quickly walked around the couch so that he was sitting between her and the gun. A rush of affection shot through her heart. She loved him, but she couldn't let him do that. He wasn't going to risk hurting himself for her. Not again. She had just gotten him back. "Toby," she muttered with her hand lightly on his arm.

"No. No you don't get to talk," Mr. Hastings' voice rumbled like thunder from his spot at the table. He stood up and waved the gun around wildly, pointing it at each group in turn. "The one with the gun makes the rules. Spencer get on the phone with your mother and tell her that I need $10,000. If she doesn't bring it I start shooting teenagers, and I know just which one to start with."

There was no way in the world that Spencer was going to allow him to hurt a hair on a single one of their heads. No way in the world. She closed her eyes to take a deep, calming breath as she reached for her phone on the end table. As she dialed her mom's number Toby reached over to grab her uncovered thigh and gently caressed it with his thumb. "It'll be alright," he murmured without taking his eyes off of the gun. She shakily put her hand on top of his so that he knew that she wasn't ignoring him.

After three long rings her mom finally picked up. _"Spencer, are you okay?"_

Throughout much of her life Spencer had always believed that she was alone in her family; that no one cared about her. But now her mom was acting as though she loved her, and it meant more to her than she could possibly say. "No. Dad's here, Mom. And he has a gun," she said softly.

_"What does he want?" _She asked after a pregnant pause.

To destroy lives and happiness seemed about right. "He wants $10,000 and he said that if he doesn't get it he's going to shoot us. I can't let him hurt them, Mom." Her voice cracked at the end and she swallowed to try and loosen up her tight, emotional throat.

Toby's hand moved from her thigh and to tightly grasp her hand. She was so glad that he was there, because she didn't know how she would handle this alone. He made her feel safe; that was something she was never going to be able to thank him enough for.

_"I can bring it to you tomorrow, but the banks are closed. I can't take that much out of the ATM. Ask him what he wants me to do."_

"Dad, she... she can't come until the morning. The banks are closed and she doesn't have that much cash. What should she do?" Spencer asked quietly, not making eye contact.

"Let me talk to her," he demanded. Spencer glanced up reluctantly at his outstretched hand. There was absolutely nothing in the world that she wanted less than to get within arms reach of him, but she knew that if that's what it took to keep her friends safe she would do it.

She reached out to grab her crutches, but before she could Toby grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the couch. He took the phone from her hand and walked it over to Mr. Hastings. Spencer reached out to grab his wrist and stop him, but her fingers grasped empty air. Damn it Toby.

He slid the phone into his hands before coming back next to Spencer. He pulled her against him and put one hand on the back of her head and one against the small of her back. "Are you okay?" He murmured into her ear.

She definitely wasn't. Just being under the harsh gaze of her father brought about intense fear. And it wasn't helping that just being around her was putting her best friends at risk as well. Somehow she had managed to forgive herself for Toby's injuries, especially now that he was largely okay. But if any of them got hurt right now she would never be able to forgive herself.

Spencer clawed at his shirt, grabbing a fist full with each hand. "D-don't do that again. You can't get hurt because of me, Toby."

He didn't respond to that other than to tighten his grip on her. "Everything will be fine, Spencer. Nobody will get hurt, I promise."

She could hear the soft mutters of her dad on her phone, but she tuned it out to focus on the decent people in her life. "I just- am scared. And I don't want to be. I don't want to give him the power, but I can't help it."

He nodded, his chin bouncing off of he shoulder. "I know, baby. I know. But I won't let anything happen to you. I promise I'll keep you safe."

Her lips twitched, but her somber mood kept the smile off of her face. He made her feel safe, there was no doubt about that. But she was much more worried about everyone else. "I'm not so worried about myself."

"Of course you're not," he said quietly.

Spencer chuckled softly and hid her face in the crook of his neck. His fingers ran through her curly hair in response. A hand brushed against her arm, and she jumped before she realized that it was much too soft to be her father's. She glanced over and saw that Hanna and Caleb had moved over so that the four of them could wait together.

Hanna waited until Spencer was looking at her before speaking. "Stop blaming yourself for something that isn't your fault. You are the most logical person I've ever met, so you have to see how illogical it is to blame yourself for this."

Spencer moved one of her arms from Toby and used it to grab Hanna's hand. They had known each other long enough that words weren't necessary for her thanks. Hanna shot her a small, nervous smile before squeezing her hand and then releasing it. Hanna was such a complex person. One minute she's claiming that mushrooms definitely cause polio, and then the next minute she's showing intelligence that rivals Spencer's. She's the best.

"Okay, here's the deal."

Spencer pulled away from Toby to look at her father. Toby turned around but kept an arm in front of her waist, the overprotective fool. But she wouldn't complain right now, because after everything she wasn't so sure that he wouldn't shoot them.

"Veronica will be here at 9 am. She'll bring the money, but in the meantime I need to stay here with you. She won't give me anything if she doesn't have a reason to."

She immediately snapped her eyes shut so no one could see the tension running through her body at his words. She was tired, didn't feel very well, and needed rest. But there was no way in the world that she was going to be able to sleep with him in the room with them. But more than that, that's about twelve more hours in which he would have the opportunity to hurt her friends. Unless she could convince him to let them leave. "Dad, you only really need me, right? Maybe you should let the other three go."

Toby turned to look at her with incredulous eyes, but were she able to protect him she didn't care how he looked at her.

She watched as her dad stroked his chin thoughtfully. Thoughts of how stupid he looked stroking a beard that wasn't there passed through her head. "You may be right. Your mom only really cares about you, I'm sure." His eyes quickly scanned over the faces of the other three. "You guys can go if you'd like. I only really need Spencer."

Toby's eyes had never left her face, and in response her eyes diverted to the ground. His hands grasped either side of her face and gently, but firmly, tilted it upward so that she was forced to look into his eyes. "If you think that I'm leaving you you must have completely lost your mind. I'm not going anywhere."

"We're not leaving either," Caleb chimed in from his spot next to Hanna. "You don't have to go through this alone, Spencer."

Spencer closed her eyes in defeat and slumped forward to rest her head against Toby's shoulder, her forehead tucked against his neck. Part of her was touched beyond words. They had a chance to leave and get to safety, but they refused so that they could stay and support her. She really had the best friends imaginable. But a bigger part of her was frustrated. She was grateful they wanted to be there for her, but she would much rather know that they were safe. But she also knew all three of them well enough to say with absolute certainty that her protests would fall on deaf ears. They were going to stay and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Suit yourselves. Just stay out of my way and don't bother me. This should all end just fine for everyone."

* * *

She had always seen the irony in time. When you wanted it to pass quickly it only slowed down, but when you were dreading something time sped up to an incomprehensible point. There was nothing she had ever looked forward to quite as much as her mom arriving with the money. Then she could be sure of their safety, and she could finally relax.

Her head dipped down slightly to look at her watch, and discouragement colored her features when she saw that it was one in the morning. Eight more hours to go.

The shooting, throbbing pain in her leg was getting too much to handle. They were supposed to pick up her prescription for pain medication, but like the intelligent people they were they forgot. She was regretting that profusely now as tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. Hold it in, Spence.

"I am so bored," Hanna whined from her spot on the couch between Caleb and Toby. Spencer couldn't agree more, but she knew that she was the one most likely to set off her father so she made sure to keep her mouth shut.

Caleb leaned down to whisper something in her ear causing a broad smile to quickly spread across her face. Hanna and Caleb were literally the perfect match. She couldn't have envisioned someone more compatible for her best friend than Caleb Rivers.

"Spencer, are you alright?"

She glanced up at her boyfriend with as much of a smile as she could muster. Honesty was the best policy, right? "My leg hurts, but I'm mostly fine."

His hand brushed her hair out of her face so he could get a better look at her. "I'm sorry we forgot to get your medicine. How bad is it? Is there anything I can do?"

"Toby, you can't be feeling well either. You need to rest," she said softly. She was actually really concerned about him. He had just gotten out of the hospital, and he wasn't going to ever be able to recover if he didn't start to take it easy.

He tilted his head down to press a quick kiss to her forehead. "It's just like any normal, run of the mill headache. I'm fine. Maybe you should try to sleep? You won't feel the pain if you aren't awake."

Was he joking? That definitely wasn't going to happen. "I can't sleep with him in here."

Toby gently tucked a chunk of hair behind her ear before making eye contact again. "But I'll be right here the entire time. I swear to you, I won't let him hurt you. He won't come near you ever again."

"Toby, trust me. You are the only person in the world who can make me feel safe. But you need sleep too." She brushed her fingers along his jaw, hoping that he'll agree to take a nap.

He tensed slightly and pulled her to him. She glanced up and followed his eyes, and hers were met with her dad giving them a look filled with some kind of emotion that she wasn't familiar with. What was really shocking her was that he appeared to be wide awake. How was he possibly not tired?

"You nap first, Spence. I'll wake you up when I can't stay awake anymore," he said softly without taking his eyes off of her father.

Whether she appreciated his protectiveness or not, she could tell from the firm set of his jaw and the tension around his eyes that he wasn't going to allow himself to fall asleep anytime soon. She nodded reluctantly and snuggled into his side. "As long as you swear to wake me up if you need anything."

He brushed his lips against her temple. "I promise."

Before she even realized what was happening she closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep in the arms of her protector.


	11. Chapter 11

**YOU GUYS. YOU GUYS! Are you kidding me!? Ten reviews AGAIN!? I seriously love you all so much. Best readers in the entire freaking world! SO good! Ahhh! If I could hug you all and bake you all cookies I totally would. **

**OKAY also, who saw PLL last night!? Spencer is breaking my heart! OH MY GOD. STOP IT GIRL. Geeze. But I always knew Hanna was my second favorite for a reason. ALSO NEXT WEEK IS SHADOW PLAY! And Toby is back! Bless our Spoby loving HEARTS!**

**The next chapter should be up this weekend unless on the off chance the 10 review thing happens again, in which case I'll post it when it's done! It's from Toby's POV! If that's any added incentive, lol. Okay I hope you love this! More crazy Mr. Hastings action for you. And adorbs Spoby.**

**Review and let me know what you think!**

Chapter 13

SPOV

Sleep was a wonderful thing. It was also a very scarce commodity for the high school perfectionist. She had always desired to be one of those teenagers who could sleep twelve hours a night if left to their own devices, but that just wasn't in the cards for her. After years of habitually waking up at 5 am to double check her homework and get in a quick workout, her body was no longer capable of sleeping for more than seven hours a night. Even more than that, she was the lightest sleeper that she had ever met. The smallest of noises would rouse her from her temporary state of unconsciousness.

That was why when a loud thump reverberated throughout the loft she awoke with a start. She moaned softly and blinked open her weary eyes. "W-what?" Typically she would attempt to be more eloquent, but her sleep muddled brain was temporarily unable to form a coherent thought.

A cold hand gently curled around the side of her neck, the thumb brushing up and down in a soothing manner. "Shhh, Spence, everything's fine. Go back to sleep."

She shook her head and lifted it from his shoulder. Her eyes scanned the room for any sign of disturbance and was marginally relieved when she saw Hanna on the ground. Despite her best efforts she couldn't stop a smile from appearing on her exhausted face. "Did you fall down, Han?" She asked quietly, the humor in her voice more than evident.

Hanna shot her an annoyed glare before climbing back up on the couch and returning to her spot next to Caleb, who had slept through everything. They were cute. Spencer glanced down at her watch and saw with relief that it was 8 am. Her mom would be here soon and then everything will be fine.

Her relief was short lived, however, as she felt the gentle stroking of Toby's thumb on her neck. Usually his touch would make her feel nothing but joy and contentment, but not when he was supposed to have slept for at least a portion of the night. "Why didn't you wake me up?" She murmured, not removing her head from his shoulder.

His thumb momentarily paused before reembarking on it's slow vertical motion. "I told you I would wake you up if I couldn't stay awake any longer, and I'm fine."

"Toby, please just sleep for awhile? You aren't going to be able to recover fully unless you get some rest," she laced her fingers with his and brought his hand to her mouth so that she could brush her lips across his knuckles. She would have preferred his face, but his hand on her neck felt so good that she couldn't bring herself to move.

He press his lips to the top of her head. "How does your leg feel?"

Oh that's cute. He's trying to avoid the question. King of deflection right here, everyone. "The same as before, I think. I'm not going to be able to convince you to sleep, am I?"

"You know me too well." She could hear the smile in his voice as he pushed her hair back behind her ear. "I'll sleep when this is all over."

Spencer sighed in defeat and glanced across at the table, looking to see how her father was coping with his sleepless night. The man's eyes were bloodshot, but other than that he seemed perfectly content to simply continue staring at them. What was going on with him? The past few weeks were like dealing with a completely different man. The father she grew up with was stern, strict, and sometimes scary; but he was never violent.

She just didn't understand. Was it drugs? She understood the temptation. He had a very demanding job, and sometimes it was hard to relax. She had considered indulging in prescription medication to allow herself to stay awake to study, but she could never bring herself to do it. Maybe he didn't have her hesitation.

But this just seemed different. No only was he desperate, and perhaps a bit sickly in appearance; but it was as though he had transformed into a new person at his very core.

"You don't have to always be the hero, Toby. Let someone help you." Her words came out much more harshly than she had originally intended, but before she could apologize he snorted.

She could feel his frame shaking from laughter that he refused to let escape audibly. "I always knew you were stubborn, but have got to admit that was the most hypocritical statement in the history of spoken language."

He was right, of course. But she definitely wasn't going to tell him that. "How's the head?" She asked him softly and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead to ensure that he was still without a fever.

"Spence, I'm fine. Relax, okay? Everything will be fine."

Everything wasn't fine. The number of things that could go wrong were so great that she didn't even attempt to number them. Her mom might not be able to get the money. Her dad could get tired of waiting and just shoot all of them, actually he could just hurt anyone. She would never be able to forgive herself if that happened. "You don't know that, Toby. There are so many things that could go wrong."

"Okay, here's what I know," he said softly. His hands found their way to her shoulders and gently turned her so that she was facing him. One hand remained on her shoulder and the other began to stroke her head from the crown of her head to the base of her neck. "I know that there's basically no way that your mom forgot about you. It's 8:40, so she should be here anytime. I know that we're all alive and largely well, and I know that nothing bad has happened yet. And if I can do anything about it nothing bad _will_ happen. I love you Spencer, and I need you to calm down. I can feel your tension from here."

She sighed and would have kissed him, but she was cut off by a quiet knock on the outside door. _Mom._

The noise hadn't just brought her to attention. Hanna and Caleb were stirring into consciousness, and her father sat up at attention from across the room. He looked at them thoughtfully before speaking. "Toby, you answer it. It's your loft, and if it's not my wife then I don't want anything to seem suspicious." He raised the gun to point at the vacant air between them on the couch. "Say anything out of the ordinary and I start shooting."

Spencer didn't like that idea at all, but she knew that they had little choice. Her hand found his wrist, but her hold was only half-hearted. He was going to have to do this. Toby leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on her forehead before standing up and making his way to the door. Her eyes didn't leave him for even a second. There would be little she could do if her dad decided to act on his crazy, but she would do absolutely everything she could.

She watched as Toby's shoulders sagged in relief when he took in who was on the other side. "Mrs. Hastings," he murmured in relief.

As soon as he heard his wife's name leave Toby's lips Mr. Hastings stood up and pointed the gun at the two of them. "Shut the door," he demanded in silent fury.

His anger was confusing her because he had seemed as calm as someone could while holding four teenagers hostage at gun point. Now he was back to his manic state. There was something deeper going on here.

Toby moved to walk back to the couch, but Mr. Hastings swiveled the gun in his direction. "No. You stay there. No one moves until I get the money. Veronica pass me the cash."

The frustrated reluctance on Toby's face may have been comical had the situation not been so dire. His eyes moved to her face, most likely watching for any signs of distress. She worked to keep her expression neutral; there was no reason to panic him any more than her already was.

Her eyes diverted to her mother as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Spencer watched as the overly stuffed envelope passed from her mother's hands to her father's. The sight of her parents exchanging money wasn't foreign to her. What was strange was the emotions. Much of her childhood was spent trying to decipher the deeper meaning behind their stoic expressions. Now the fear on her mother's face and the anger on her father's were coming to easy. It was like she didn't have to work for it at all, and that was unnerving for her.

"It's all there Peter, just leave and we'll forget that this happened." The fear was still obvious on her mother's face, but her tone was her typical, emotionless, lawyer voice.

Her dad ignored her as he flipped through the cash, quickly counting it to ensure that he wasn't shorted at all. When he was done he looked up with a grin with sadistic undertones. "Okay, I'm leaving."

His path of departure took him between the coffee table and the couch. For a moment Spencer thought he was going to leave without incident, but she should have known that thought was too good to be true. As he walked past her he suddenly stopped in his path and hauled her up in one seamless motion. Before anyone in the room realized what he was doing he dug the barrel of the gun into her ribs. The pressure caused a dull ache to shoot through her still sore torso.

"Let her go!"

She was sure that Toby was trying to sound intimidating, but mostly he just sounded really scared. She was scared too, but the fear in Toby's voice was much greater. It was understandable. If their positions were reversed she would be inconsolable. She would much prefer that she were the one with the gun jammed against her rib cage.

The gun dug in further in response to Toby's desperate plea. "I need to take her with me. How else am I going to be sure that you don't call the police and report our little altercation last night. And now that I don't have access to my bank account, paying them off may be more difficult than I would typically find it to be."

Spencer still hadn't spoken. She was glad that he chose her over her friends, but she still didn't particularly want to get shot. If she wanted to escape this situation unscathed then the best action to take would be to remain silent.

"Mr. Hastings," Hanna said quietly from behind them. Damn it Hanna, don't say anything stupid.

He didn't move, but he tilted his head backward to indicate that he had heard her. "Mr. Hastings, she can barely walk. All she'll do is slow you down. Maybe you should take someone else."

"Yes!" Toby spoke up from the front of the room. "Yes, take me instead. _Please."_

She couldn't let that one slide. "Toby, shut up," she demanded in the most annoyed tone she could muster. Mostly she just sounded scared, but she was sure that he got her point. That was a trade that wasn't going to happen.

"No. No I'm going to take Spencer and we're leaving now. I'll leave her off somewhere once we get far enough away, assuming she doesn't annoy me too much."

His hand dug deeper into her arm and he yanked her toward the door. He was moving to fast for her to even pretend to walk, so he was basically just dragging her. She couldn't hold back the gasp of pain as her leg bounced against the floor. The regret for forgetting her pain medication was at an all time high. When this was over she was going to have to drug herself and take a long nap.

Her eyes met Toby's as they neared the door. His eyes flickered between her face and the gun. She knew that he was considering the intelligence in just grabbing her, but he had to realize that was a terrible idea. She'd much rather go for a ride with her dad than have someone get shot. She subtly shook her head. "Everything will be fine," she murmured as they passed him and walked out of the door.

"I love you," she heard him whisper. His voice sounded so angry and broken. Her heart was heavy, but she definitely wasn't going to let any of them get hurt trying to rescue her. It was the only way.

When they reached the stairs she gritted teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. This was going to suck. Her dad grabbed her other arm, tucking the gun into his pocket. "Don't make me regret not keeping that gun on you," he warned in a dangerous tone.

She was all for woman power, but even more than that she was incredibly logical. And now her logic was telling her that she probably couldn't escape her father if she was at her best, but with a broken leg she'd hobble a half step away before he caught her again.

He largely carried her down the stairs, and shoved her into the passenger seat of his car. She quickly buckled her seat belt as he climbed into the driver's side and pulled away from the Brew.

The cliched statement 'the silence was deafening' made so much more sense to her. They could have made conversation and the noise would have been much less heavy than the silence that pervaded the car. Her eyes lingered on the _Now Leaving Rosewood_ sign. What was he going to do to her? Where was he going to leave her?

"Spencer get that constipated, scared look off of your face. I'm not going to hurt you as long as you stay calm and don't do anything stupid," he grumbled from the seat next to her.

She nodded and scooted as close to the door as she could. Her eyes raked up and down his figure, and noted how he didn't look well. Sweat beaded along his brow line, and his eyes were bleary and bloodshot. It might have been from the sleepless night, but she wasn't so sure. "Are you feeling alright?" She asked him softly. It was like he was a skittish dog, and she didn't want to set him off with her tone.

He looked at her in confusion. It was a justified confusion, because she wasn't so sure why she was concerned about his well-being herself. He had turned her life upside down, and she would be perfectly justified in resenting him for the rest of her life. But that didn't change that he was her father.

"I'm alright. Spencer, I- I know you aren't going to be able to forgive me, and that's fine. I'm not going to apologize for parenting you. But what I do regret is that my actions caused your car accident with Toby. I never wanted that for you."

He was really confusing her. One minute he's angry and then the next minute he was sincerely apologetic. "I believe you," she said shortly. It came out much more harshly than she intended, so she immediately decided to continue, not wanting to make him angry. "I probably would have been able to forgive you had it just been me, but you almost killed Toby. That's what I can't forgive."

The flash of anger in his eyes caused her to flinch, but he didn't hit her. She still stayed tensed against the passenger side door as they entered into Brookhaven.

Her dad sighed and pulled over to the side of the road. "This is far enough. Get out."

He didn't have to tell her twice. It was difficult with her leg, but she managed to pull herself out of the car and hop to the sidewalk. As soon as she had shut the door behind her he quickly pulled away and turned out of sight.

She slowly lowered herself to the curb and looked around for a payphone. Her leg hurt, and she didn't think that she could manage staying upright for all that long. Usually friendly people were a welcome sight, but today she hoped that no one would ask her if she needed help. This whole situation would be much too difficult to adequately explain.

Her eyes landed on a payphone a little bit down the road. It was kind of far away, but she would manage it. Strength was something that she wasn't running short on. She would do what she had to do to be finished with this situation. She slowly pulled herself up and hopped on one foot in the direction of the payphone. Every step she took sent a shock of pain through her leg, but she wasn't going to stop. She just had to get to the payphone and then this whole mess would be over. Periodically she paused to take a hold of something to regain her balance. After ten minutes of clumsy hobbling she managed to reach the phone and called Toby's number collect.

It didn't even take a full ring for him to answer. _"Hello?" _His voice was still saturated with fear and desperation. Sounds like she called just in time or else her boyfriend was going to blow an aneurysm or something.

"Toby?" She said softly, trying to keep her own tone calm. If he thought she was scared it was only going to send him into a deeper panic.

_"Oh thank God, oh thank God. Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Where are you?" _

He shot out the three questions at rapid fire pace. A small smile stretched across her lips. Worried Toby was really cute. "I'm fine, don't give yourself a heart attack. I'm in Brookhaven on a payphone. I'm um, right across the street from that thrift store Hanna and I got our Halloween costumes at last year. She should be able to tell you where it is."

_"Okay. Okay, don't move. Seriously, just wait for me by the payphone. We'll be there in ten minutes." _

She could hear a car engine start and knew that he wasn't kidding. Typically the drive to Brookhaven would take closer to twenty, but she didn't doubt that he was going to speed. "I love you."

_"I- I love you too."_


	12. Chapter 12

**TWELVE REVIEWS?! TWELVE REVIEWS!? I don't even care that you guys are making me write like a crazy person to keep up with your AWESOMENESS. seriously you're the most awesome people in the whole entire freaking world. SO AMAZING. Okay so yeah THIS CHAPTER IS FROM TOBY'S POV. I don't know why I capitalized that. I'm just really excited, okay?! Usually I hate when chapters overlap, but this needed to a bit.**

**On a slightly related note, if you haven't checked out my other story yet go do it! It's called Unchained Melody. It's only three chapters in, but it's basically pure fluff so far. So if you're looking for some Spoby fluff it might be good for you! But don't worry, the action is coming in that one.**

**FINALLY, There are, I THINK, three more chapters of this story. Maybe four. I can't remember and I'm too lazy to go look. But the point is we're coming to the end guys. And if I don't make things a little harder for you all we're going to have it all posted by the end of the weekend! So the next chapter will either be up on Sunday or when I get 13 reviews. If I get 13 reviews I'll be at 100 and my life will be made! So see you when I see you!**

**Review and let me know what you think!**

Chapter 12

TPOV

_"I know that there's basically no way that your mom forgot about you. It's 8:40, so she should be here anytime. I know that we're all alive and largely well, and I know that nothing bad has happened yet. And if I can do anything about it nothing bad will happen. I love you Spencer, and I need you to calm down. I can feel your tension from here."_

Spencer was just too smart. Typically it was one of the things he loved best about her. A lot of guys would be insecure dating a girl who was infinitely more intelligent than they were, but Toby mostly just found it endearing. But right now it was causing issues. Her intelligence made her a difficult person to comfort.

He could see the doubt in her eyes, but he also noticed with satisfaction that her lips were tugged into a small smile. He was fairly sure that she didn't know she was smiling, but that was how their relationship worked. Spencer tried her hardest to hide unpleasant emotions from him, and he was always able to see through her. God, he loved her.

Before she had a chance to respond she was cut off by a soft rapping on the loft door. Had it been the door to the Brew he may have thought it was his landlord coming to check on them, but since it was the exterior door he was fairly certain that it was Mrs. Hastings. His eyes reluctantly turned back to Mr. Hastings, silently wondering what he wanted him to do.

"Toby, you answer it. It's your loft, and if it's not my wife then I don't want anything to seem suspicious." The gun was once again raised to point between Toby and Spencer and Caleb and Hanna. He wasn't aiming directly at anybody, but it was too close for comfort. "Say anything out of the ordinary and I start shooting."

Spencer's cold, fragile hand wrapped around his wrist before the demand had fully left her father's lips. He could have broken out of her tightest grip, but this was considerably looser than that. Even she knew that this was an unavoidable task. He turned to quickly kiss her forehead, lingering for a moment, taking in her scent. The smell of her shampoo and perfume combined together in such a unique way that he had no doubt that he could find her in a dark room.

As he stood up he reflected on what he would say if it wasn't Mrs. Hastings. The chances of it being someone else were virtually zero, but there was always the slightest possibility. Nearly every person in the world that he counted as a friend was trapped in this room with him. The only person it might be was his father, and he sincerely hoped that it wasn't. This would literally be the absolute worst way imaginable to being rebuilding their relationship.

But his fears were unfounded. As he opened the door and took in Mrs. Hastings' worried face he could help but sigh her name in relief. Maybe now this nightmare could finally be over.

"Shut the door." The anger in Mr. Hastings' voice was frightening. But not for himself. He would gladly take the brunt of his anger if it meant that no one else in the room had to suffer. He found his family in Spencer and her friends, and he was damned if he was going to let anyone take a single one of them away from him. Before he turned to face Mr. Hastings he watched as an uncharacteristic flash of fear flashed across Mrs. Hastings' face. That uncharacteristic show of emotion unnerved him slightly.

He glanced over at Spencer and saw her observing her father. He could tell that she was concerned because she always got a cute little worry line on her forehead between her eyes. Being this far away from her was wrong. How was he supposed to protect her if he couldn't reach her. The five steps it would take to get back to her side were too many. After two the gun swiveled back to him, causing him to stop dead. He would be no use to anyone with a bullet in the chest.

"No. You stay there. No one moves until I get the money. Veronica, pass me the cash."

God, if it were just him in the room he would have loved to have seen how far he could push this man. But he wasn't willing to risk Spencer. Or Hanna, Caleb, or Mrs. Hastings, for that matter. He reluctantly backed up and stood by Mrs. Hastings in such a position that he could lean against the wall without rousing suspicion. He was pretty sure that he had Spencer convinced of his good health, which was what he wanted. But in reality he could remember few times in which his head had hurt more. He really needed to rest, but that wasn't going to happen until they were alone.

His eyes found their way to Spencer's face, and he was unsurprised to see her own chocolate, brown eyes studying his. He carefully scanned her for any signs of distress. If he needed to he would come to her aid, and he didn't care what the consequences were to himself. He would do anything for her. He had said as much when she was pretending to sleep in the hospital, but he really hoped that she fully comprehended the magnitude of his devotion toward her.

"It's all there Peter. Just leave and we'll forget that this happened." Mrs. Hastings' voice definitely did not match her tense demeanor. He had always appreciated the woman's ability to remain cool under pressure, but this was taking it to a new level. When your psychopath husband alternated pointed a gun at you, your daughter, and her friends it was definitely okay to panic.

The grin that appeared on Mr. Hastings face as he completed his counting was a little terrifying. He didn't know what he was up to, but as long as he left it didn't matter. "Okay, I'm leaving."

He sighed before he realized what he was doing and sagged in relief against the wall. His eyes closed as he took a moment to real in his relief and to get his emotions in check. He had been so busy comforting Spencer that he hadn't really taken any time to reflect on how scared he was. This could have ended so badly, and he couldn't be more relieved that it hadn't.

A yelp of protest sounded from the couch, and he snapped his eyes open to take in whatever new horror awaited them. His heart sank as he saw Mr. Hastings' hand wrapped tightly around Spencer's arm, and the gun digging into her side. Damn it. _Damn it. _He should have been paying better attention. He should have gone right back to Spencer as soon as he had opened the door. _He should have done something._

"Let her go!" He tried his best to sound angry, but his efforts were feeble at best. Mostly he just sounded really scared. Which he was, but he didn't need to let Mr. Hastings know that. White, hot fury rose up in his chest as he watched a spasm of pain work its way through her face. He was hurting her again. This was so wrong. It was so, so wrong. He had _promised _her that he would keep her safe. He had said that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her, but he failed miserably. He was hurting her, and there was nothing he could do without risking her life in the process.

The gun dug deeper into her side, causing the pained look to grow more pronounced. He hadn't even realized that he was holding his breath until he released it through his clenched teeth. If he ever saw this man again when didn't have a gun then he was going to literally lose his mind. He had never thought that he would be capable of murder, but he was pretty sure that he could and would do it if he ever saw him again.

"I need to take her with me. How else am I going to be sure that you don't call the police and report our little altercation last night. And now that I don't have access to my bank account, paying them off may be more difficult than I would typically find it to be."

Was he kidding? He was going to kidnap the most important person in Toby's life just to ensure that he wouldn't get into trouble? Seriously? Spencer still hadn't spoken, and it was terrifying him. Was she okay? Had he hurt her?

"Mr. Hastings." Hanna spoke up from behind them. He watched as Spencer flinched at her voice, and how Caleb tightened his grip on her arm as though Mr. Hastings was going to turn on him next. He couldn't help but feel irrationally jealous. Caleb had a hold of Hanna. He could protect her. He could keep her safe. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do to have that same luxury with Spencer.

Mr. Hastings tilted his head backward to show her that he was listening to her. "Mr. Hastings, she can barely walk. All she'll do is slow you down. Maybe you should take someone else."

He knew he loved Hanna for a reason. She had a way of offering up the most simple solutions. They were so simple that no one else thought of them, even though they made the most sense in the world. He glanced at Mr. Hastings with hope in his eyes. "Yes! Yes, take me instead. _Please."_

Begging this man for anything was not something that he wanted to do, but if it would cause him to release Spencer then he would get down on his knees and kiss his feet. His face traveled down to meet Spencer, and noticed with a pang of worry that her eyes were tightly squeezed shut.

"Toby, shut up." Usually her annoyed tone would have made him smile, but today all it did was cause his annoyance to grow. She needed to not interfere. Besides, the small tones of fear in her voice were more than enough to increase his desire to help her.

"No. No I'm going to take Spencer and we're leaving now. I'll leave her off somewhere once we get far enough away, assuming she doesn't annoy me too much."

Mr. Hastings' fingers dug so deeply into her slender arm that he could see the blood being cut off. She was going to bruise, and it wasn't okay with him. He had to help her. He eyed the gun and then transferred his gaze to her face and then back to the gun again. He was pretty sure that he could pull her out of the way fast enough. His eyes trailed back to her face and frowned as he saw her shaking her head no. Was she kidding? Did she really expect him to just allow her to go with him? If she walked out the door then he might never see her again.

Her face twisted in pain as her broken leg bounced against the ground. He literally had to hold onto the shelf behind him to stop himself from attacking Mr. Hastings. How could he want to cause this beautiful girl pain? She was his _daughter. _She was beautiful, strong, intelligent, and just _perfect. _What was wrong with him?_  
_

But after a moment of thinking it through he realized that Spencer was right. As much as it was breaking his heart, he wasn't going to be able to stop this without risking something much worse. Clearly she could see the pain and fear on his face because as she was dragged past him she took the time to murmur a series of comforting words. "Everything will be fine."

It was so obvious how hard she was trying to stay strong, which broke his heart all the more. She shouldn't have to be strong. He should have done a better job of protecting her. "I- I love you," he called after her. He watched through the window as Mr. Hastings all but carried her down the stairs and shoved her into his car. When they drove off they took his heart with them. Would he ever see Spencer again?

"Toby..." Hanna's soft voice spoke out from behind him, but he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear anyone trying to comfort him. Spencer was gone. _Gone._

He shrugged off her hand on his arm and stalked off toward the couch. He collapsed onto the cushioned surface and buried his face in his hands. What were they supposed to do? He knew that there was every chance that she would get away fine. But what if she didn't? What if Mr. Hastings shot her? What if she was bleeding, alone and cold? He wasn't there to help her. He was supposed to protect her. _He told her he would protect her._

"Toby, man. You have to stop blaming yourself for things that aren't your fault. You wouldn't have been able to stop this." Caleb's words made sense, but it didn't matter. He was beyond rational thought. All he could think of was a broken, bleeding Spencer. He didn't even want to open his eyes, because if he did he was afraid that he'd cry. That embarrassment was the last thing that he needed right now.

The couch sunk down as someone sat down next to him. He expected Hanna, but was surprised when Mrs. Hastings began to speak. "I know you're worried. I am too. But I also know you saw as well as I did how my husband helped her down the steps. I don't know where his manic states have been coming from, but I think he's calming down now. He could have dragged her out by her hair, but instead he helped her down."

She was right. Of course she was right. He should have known that Spencer had to have been raised by people equally smart as she was. But it didn't change the fact that he should have protected her and failed. There had to have been something he could have done to stop her from leaving. "It doesn't change that I let her down. I told her I wouldn't let him hurt her again, and not even twenty minutes later he's holding her hostage at gunpoint."

"She's not going to blame you for that Toby. You couldn't have done anything to stop it. If anything she's going to be happy that it was her and not someone else," Hanna said with confidence from her position in front of him.

He raised his head but didn't look at anyone. "That's because she has a remarkably absent affinity for self preservation," he sighed bitterly. What he wouldn't give for her to care just a little bit more about herself.

Hanna snorted and plopped down on the ground in front of him. "You're going to think I'm making this up, but I'm totally not. When we were twelve we were outside playing on Aria's trampoline. And all of a sudden we heard this annoying hissing sound coming from the big oak tree in her back yard. It took us a minute, but eventually we realized that a cat was stuck in it. Instead of going to get Mrs. Montgomery for help Spencer got it in her head to be the hero and climbed the tree herself. Emily was convinced that if she waited then the cat would fall out of the tree and die, and Spencer didn't want her to cry."

"Did she get it down?" He asked softly. He knew that Hanna was just trying to distract him, and it was working to an extent. But if he didn't hear from Spencer soon he was going to lose his mind again.

She laughed and leaned back against the coffee table. If it wasn't for the tightness around her eyes and the slight tremor in her hands he would have thought that Hanna was completely at ease. She was terrified for her best friend. They all had something at stake here. "Yes, she got it down. But not easily. Trying to explain why Spencer was covered in scratches was pretty difficult, but we welcomed the challenge."

"I always wondered what happened. Your story of her flying off of the trampoline and into a push wasn't all that plausible. But your dedication to the story and to each other was commendable, so I let it go." Mrs. Hasting laughed and stood up to look out the window.

"The first time that I met Spencer she verbally assaulting Noel Kahn for dumping a freshman's lunch on him," Caleb laughed. "She called him a Neanderthal, shoved him into a trash can, and bought the kid a new lunch, He was looking at her like she was Beyonce or something."

"That was definitely a memorable first lunch with my friends," Hanna chucked in agreement. "Okay Toby, your turn. Favorite Spencer story, go."

He really didn't want to talk. His voice was going to crack and make was for a flood of his poorly concealed emotions. But these stories were also reminding him of just how much he loved Spencer. She put on a tough exterior, but on the inside she had a heart of gold. She could never let an injustice fly. "The first time we really talked she came to tutor me in French. I wasn't very nice to her, but she continued to meet me at the Brew. At first I thought she just enjoyed the challenge. I'm not very good at French. But then one day, about two weeks in, we got off topic. She told me about how there was something different about me, and how she enjoyed spending time with me even when I was being an ass. And I- I don't think I can fully express to you guys what that meant. My mom had killed herself a few months earlier, and since then everyone just barely tolerated me at best. At worst they acted like I didn't exist."

He took a deep breath to steady his churning stomach. She had to be okay. She just had to. "And then Spencer came along. She saw the real me below the harsh exterior. And not only did she tolerate me, but she said she actively enjoyed my company. No one- but my mom had ever said that to me before. And it meant the world to me. It was right then I knew that she was going to be someone special." He would have continued, but he didn't have the emotional stability.

There was a heavy silence from all of the room's occupants. "Toby..." Hanna began, but her words were cut off by the ringing of his cell phone.

Toby snatched it up off of the table and answered it before the first ring had even had a chance to complete. "Hello?" He sincerely hoped that it was Spencer, because if it wasn't the person on the other end was going to think he was a crazy person. His desperation for it to be her was almost tangible.

_"Toby?"_

Relief crashed over him like an ocean wave. His knees went weak and he sagged to the floor. "Oh thank God, oh thank God. Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Where are you?" He saw Hanna getting up and grabbing her purse and the keys gesturing for everyone else to follow her. Toby shakily stood up and made his way out of the loft. She had to be close, they hadn't left all that long ago.

_"I'm fine, don't give yourself a heart attack. I'm in Brookhaven on a payphone. I'm um, right across the street from that thrift store Hanna and I got our Halloween costumes at last year. She should be able to tell you where it is."_

_Brookhaven. _That wasn't too far. He reached out and snagged the keys from Hanna. No way he way trusting anyone else with driving fast enough. If he drove he was in control of how quickly they reached Spencer. He pulled the driver's side door open, climbed in, and started the engine. "Okay. Okay, don't move. Seriously, just wait for me by the payphone. We'll be there in ten minutes."

_"I love you."_

His heart constricted in a perfect combination of love and fear. She was away from her father, but he wasn't going to be able to completely believe that she was safe until she was wrapped up in his arms. He pressed down on the gas, speeding through Rosewood. He didn't know how he would explain his speed if he were to get pulled over, but he honestly didn't care at all. "I- I love you too."

Before he could tell her to stay on the phone with him the line went dead. Great. Just great. "Hanna, she's across from the thrift store you guys got your costumes at for Halloween. Do you remember where that is?"

If she said no he was going to lose his mind, but luckily he noted her head nodding in affirmation in the backseat. "Yeah, just take the first left when you get into Brookhaven, and it's about halfway down the street."

He nodded in response and pressed even harder down on the gas. The small whimper of protest from the backseat would have usually been enough to cause him to rethink his actions, but not today. Not when it involved Spencer.

You could do a lot of things in ten minutes. Take a shower, cook some pasta, watch some YouTube videos. But this had to have been the most important ten minutes of his life. As he rounded the corner of the street that Hanna had indicated he glanced to the right expectantly. If Spencer wasn't there he didn't know what he would do. But he didn't have to worry. He took in her thin frame and mass of curly brown hair just where she said she was, sitting on the curb and leaning with her back against the phone booth.

He slammed on the brakes, flung open the door, and ran the rest of the way to Spencer, not even bothering to shut the car door behind him. "Spencer!"

Her head whipped up and a smile quickly overtook her tired face. He reached her in two more long strides, gently grasped her upper arms and pulled her up to him. His arms wrapped tightly around her, one grasping the back of her head, cradling it his shoulder, and the other running up and down her back. She responded immediately by wrapping him in her tight embrace.

He closed his eyes and buried his face in the top of her head, taking a moment to breath in her distinctive scent, feel the warmth of her breathing on his shoulder, and the steady thump of her heart against his chest. She was okay. _She was okay._

Toby pulled her away slightly so he could quickly scan her body for injuries. Satisfied he bent down and planted several chaste kisses on her face. "You're okay, you're okay, you're okay," he murmured between each one.

She giggled as her lips found his own and they connected in a short fit of passion. "I'm fine. I love you."

He broke away and pulled her back to him, content if they never moved again. "I love you too." And he meant every word of it. He loved her with every single part of him. There was no turning back now. Spencer Hastings was it for him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Haha alright guys. I was going to wait another day or two to upload this. But I just edited it and now I have to share it. This is a break from the drama, so hopefully you appreciate that!**

**NOW, I am FOUR REVIEWS away from 100! FOUR! Holy crap! I'm so excited. I really hope this chapter gets me there, but if it doesn't that's cool too! Even a few reviews are CRAZY AMAZING because you guys give such a good quality. 100th reviewer gets a shout out in the next chapter! **

**Now, the less awesome news is that the next update is going to come a little slower than usual. I have SO MUCH to do this week. I don't know WHEN it will come, but I can't imagine having time to get it done before Wednesday. Either way, I'll see you when I see you! Reviews will motivate me to squeeze in time to write it though :)**

Chapter 13

SPOV

It was funny how quickly things go back to normal after the worst had happened. It had only been a week since Toby woke up, a week since her father had held her best friends at gun point, and a week since she was held hostage to ensure his safe passage out of Rosewood. Her life had never exactly been easy, but this situation had practically been a joke. But at least it was over. No one had heard from her dad, and hopefully it stayed that way.

The thunk of her backpack against her back became kind of soothing as she awkwardly used her crutches to navigate a path to her locker. Crutchateering- the term was still totally going to catch on- was still not her strong point, but she was definitely honing her skills. She had managed to go the whole day without falling on her face, which was a victory as far as she was concerned.

This school day had been long and uneventful. All she wanted was to drop her books off, go home, and take a long bubble bath. Her piles of homework would be there for her after she had been given a chance to wind down. The bumps on the lock tickled her fingers as she slowly entered in her combo. Perfectionism trailed down even to successful locker opening.

"Spencer!"

She swung open her locker door and turned to face Caleb, who had a really strange look on his face. Hanna had been out sick for the day, and he was probably just worried about her. "Hey, are you alright?"

He shook his head. His expression was the perfect combination of stressed and amused. "No. I did something stupid."

Despite her best efforts to maintain a straight face she couldn't help crack a smile at his distress. The way he was beating around the bush let her know that it wasn't anything serious, and reluctant Caleb was kind of adorable. "What did you do, Caleb?"

"I um... I might have told Hanna that I would come over and take care of her."

She snorted out a really long laugh. Hanna was literally the worst sick person in the world, but she was also strangely amusing. The Big Bang Theory definitely modeled sick Sheldon Cooper after sick Hanna. "Worst decision of your entire life. Have you been around sick Hanna before?"

"No!" He ran a hand through his hair and wrinkled his nose up in distress. "I thought it would be cute. Like I would feed her soup and watch movies or something. But I just talked to her she started crying when I asked her what kind of soup she wanted. She said that if I really loved her I would know her soup order by now, and that if I was just coming over to break up with her that I should save my breath." He looked down at Spencer with a pitiful frown.

Spencer couldn't hold back a laugh at his sad desperation. "This sounds almost as bad as when she had mono. She puked in Aria's hair and blamed it on her for moving too fast. She said her speed walking gave her motion sickness."

"Will you come with me? Please? I need your expert Hastings advice." He stuck out his bottom lip to exaggerate his desperation. How did Hanna ever refuse him anything? His pouty face was enough to end wars and set captives free.

"Fine, but you're driving. We aren't going to muck up my car with whatever happens at Hanna's." She grabbed her bag and hesitated, turning back to Caleb. "Let me go find Toby really quickly. I drove him today, but he can just take my car back to his loft." Driving with a broken leg was probably a terrible idea, but it was her left leg and she was fiercely independent. If she could do it on her own she definitely was going to give it her best effort.

"Invite him along. I mean I'm sure he has better ways to spend his Thursday evening, but maybe Hanna will behave better if Toby's there. You've seen her at her worst and she doesn't care what I think. Maybe Toby can inspire a bit of decorum?"

She laughed, "I'll ask him. Meet you in the parking lot?"

He nodded, relief written all over his face. "Thanks Spencer."

Her hands waved in a dismissive manner. This was nothing compared to what he had done for her. She slung her purse over her shoulder and strode off through the hallways crowded with weary high school students in search of the only one she really cared about. His locker was inconveniently far away from her own. Albeit, her crutches did make navigation easier. The sight of her caused her classmates to part akin to Moses parting the Red Sea.

"Hey beautiful."

At the sound of the voice of the one she was searching for she turned around with a grin on her face. "Hey, I was just looking for you."

"Well, you found me. Are you ready to get going?" Toby's blue eyes sparkled as he grasped her upper arm and helped her to the side of the hallway, which she fully supported. Roadblocks were the worst kind of people in the high school hallway. You either wanted to aggressively plow them down or not so accidentally bump into them. Regardless, standing in the middle of the hallway was a categorically terrible idea.

With his hand holding onto her arm she felt secure enough to straighten up and lean forward to kiss him. Rosewood High strictly prohibited public displays of affection in the hallways. As the guidance counselor was so fond of yelling to unsuspecting students, it was a rule to 'leave some room for Jesus.' That wasn't the most appropriate statement for a public school setting, but it certainly got attention.

"Actually, Caleb has requisitioned me for an assist in taking care of sick Hanna. Do you want to come with, or do you want to just take my car back to your loft? I can come get it later."

He laughed and leaned back in to press a kiss to the tip of her nose. "Is that even a real question? Of course I'd rather come with you guys." His hands carefully turned her around and pulled her backpack off of her back. She wasn't so delicate that she couldn't carry her own bag, but the gesture was sweet. He was always looking out for her.

That was the answer that she had been expecting, but she still thought she'd ask. She nodded and swiveled around on her crutches back in the direction that she had originally come. Toby followed slowly behind her, his hand resting on the small of her back. "How's your leg feeling?"

She tightened her grip on the handles of her crutches and did her best to balance. Tripping over her own feet in front of all of her classmates sounded like the very opposite of a good way to end the day. "It doesn't hurt all the much. If anything my arms hurt from carting myself around all day. I've never felt so fat in my life."

"Please tell me that you don't actually think that you're fat," he laughed.

"No I know. But it doesn't change the fact that my arms are going numb." When the reached the double doors to the outside Toby slipped around her to push open the door. No handed hallway navigation was infinitely easier with Toby. She would have to keep him around.

She quickly scanned the parking lot in search of Caleb's car. Bless that boy. He had pulled his car up directly to the curb. Her arms would be forever in his debt.

"Do you need help?" Toby's hand brushed along her arm, leaving goosebumps in his fingers' wake. His gentle little touches were going to drive her wild in the best way possible.

It took absolutely all of her effort to refrain from laughing at him. Not because his request was ridiculous, but because it was just so completely him. Toby was so refreshingly predictable. He took his boyfriend protector duties to an almost manic level sometimes. It was even more pronounced now that she was hurt. She was just waiting to see his reaction to the inevitable moment when someone unwittingly ran into her in the overcrowded hallways. She paused as the reached Caleb's car. "Can you just get the door for me?"

He nodded and opened the front seat and moved to help her inside. Before he managed to get her into the car she grabbed his forearm to stop him. "Wait, are you sure? You're significantly taller than me, Toby."

"I also have the ability to bend both of my knees. Stop being stubborn and get in the car." His voice was the perfect combination of amused and exasperated. Actually, until that moment she had no idea that one could feel both those emotions in one go. And she honestly kind of loved that she brought out that reaction in him.

But she knew when to push and when to acquiesce, so she allowed him to help her in to the front seat. He took her crutches with him into the back, and as soon as everyone was situated Caleb drove off in the direction of Hanna's house.

The drive to Hanna's was ridiculously short; so short that she was fairly sure that they would have walked had she not been crippled. Broken bones were certainly an inconvenience. As they pulled up to the house maybe five minutes later she swung open her car door and used the handle to balance while she waited for Toby to come around the edge of the car with her crutches; he did so quickly and grasped both of her upper arms so that she didn't stumble while she adjusted her crutches.

"Hey, gimp. I'm going to go see Hanna. Do you want to heat her up some soup, since I don't love her enough to know what kind she would prefer?"

Caleb's tone was teasing, but she could hear the underlying pleas. He was definitely hoping that she agreed, and she honestly didn't care. She had dealt with sick Hanna enough times that the girl didn't scare her anymore. "That's fine, but if she throws it at me you're going to be the one picking bits of potato out of my hair."

"Deal," he laughed and walked ahead of them into the house.

Toby's hand found it's way to her back again. It wasn't hard to figure out his intentions. He wanted to be close by in case she tripped, and she couldn't fault him for that. She had tripped more often in the past few days than she had in her entire life. Grace, poise, and crutches didn't go together.

"So, why does Caleb look terrified at the thought of spending time with his girlfriend?" Toby asked in a conversational tone. He opened the front door for her and followed closely behind her as she walked into the kitchen.

Spencer barked out a laugh. Oh Lord, she didn't warn him. "I forgot to tell you _why _Caleb begged me to come here with him. Hanna is what I like to call a destructive sick. She is incredibly whiny and kind of hostile. But like in a really adorable way. And Caleb has apparently never dealt with her like this before. I couldn't leave him to fend for himself."

"Sounds reasonable." His eyes scanned the kitchen and came to rest on the table before turning back to her. "You sit down and rest, okay? Just give me instructions and I'll make her the soup."

She nodded in relief and slowly lowered herself onto one of the kitchen chairs. Her arms really were starting to hurt a lot. Maybe she should have taken another couple days off of school to get used to everything. That was a laughable thought though. Spencer Hastings missing more school than she had too? "Mrs. Marin usually keeps the soup in the cabinet above the sink. Hanna will throw a fit if it doesn't have potatoes in it. Usually she's very vegetable friendly, but when she's sick she wants to carb load."

"Did you just agree to take it easy?" He laughed and reached up for a can of soup. "I think the world's ending. So you think baked potato soup will work?"

She nodded in affirmation of the potato soup. "If I stayed on my feet any longer my arms were literally going to fall off, so it wasn't a hard choice."

"Aw but then you would have needed me around to help you, and I can't say that that would be a disappointment." When the microwave beeped he took the soup out. He had found a tray next to the stove and laid it out with a napkin, salt, and some crackers.

"You say that as if I don't already need you." She flashed him a smile and glanced reluctantly on the crutches. Time for a return to the pain.

Toby laughed at the expression on her face. "I can give you a piggy back ride if you can hold on yourself."

Usually she wouldn't have accepted. Being dependent on people was not her favorite thing, but she knew that was the best idea. She could probably get up the stairs on her own, but it would hurt a lot and it would slow. She nodded and hopped over to Toby, leaving her crutches behind. Toby bent over so she could have easy access to his back. Her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, and once he was sure that she had a good hold on him he stood up to his full 6'4. "You good back there, Spence?"

"Yep! Get going, cowboy." She laughed and hiked her good leg up around his waist so that she could hang on more tightly.

He chucked at her antics, grabbed the soup, and quickly made his way upstairs. "Prepare yourself," she murmured into his ear as he pulled open the door to Hanna's bedroom.

Toby carefully set the soup down on Hanna's nightstand and then lowered himself down so that Spencer could easily hop down. She slid off of his back and perched on the edge of her bed. "How are you feeling, Han?"

Caleb gave her a desperate look before turning back to Hanna and awaiting her answer. Hanna's eyes traveled from Toby, to the soup, over to Spencer, and then back to Caleb. "I'm thinking I got the raw end of the boyfriend deal," she whined, tossing her head back against the pillow dramatically. "Yours just made me soup and carted you up here like you were a flipping backpack and all mine can do is look at me like I'm going to murder him with my non-existent eyeball lasers."

It was a miracle that Spencer was able to hold back her laughter. The combination of Hanna's words and the look on both Caleb and Toby's faces caused the mirth to bubble up in the back of her throat like nothing she had experienced today. "Nah, you aren't missing anything. He's a blanket hog." She shot a quick smile at Toby so he knew that he was kidding before turning back to Hanna, working hard to straighten out her expression. If Hanna saw her laughing she'd throw something at her.

Hanna craned her neck around Spencer to glance at Toby appraisingly. "I can see it. He does seem like a selfish blanket stealer." She reached out for the soup and pulled it into her lap. The spoon was nearly to her lips for her first bite before dropping it back into the bowl. Her thoughtful gaze turned back to Toby. "Toby! Do you want to help me with a very scientific experiment?"

Spencer tilted her head to the side and studied the slightly mischievous smile on her face. She was torn between warning Toby that this was a trap and sitting back and letting it happen. Whatever she was about to say was certainly going to be amusing. Had she chugged a bottle of cold medicine or something?

"Um sure?" His voice was adorably confused. He had no idea what he was in for. She didn't know whether to feel bad that she dragged him along for this or to enjoy the fact that neither Caleb or Toby know how to handle sick Hanna.

Hanna squealed in excitement. "Show me your abs!"

Spencer began to cough, that was definitely not what she had expected Hanna to say. She turned to look at Toby, and the alarmed look on his face caused her to lose it. She bent over at her waist and rested her head on her knees as her entire body began to shake with hysterical laughter.

"I um... I- it's um... it's cold in here?"

His stuttering, unsure reply did nothing to calm her laughter. Oh my God, the things that come out of Hanna's mouth.

Hanna made a noise of protest. "But it'll make me feel better."

"Seeing my abs will make you feel better?" Toby's confused voice seriously may have been the most adorable thing she had ever heard. She definitely hadn't adequately prepared him for this.

Spencer took two deep, steadying breaths before pulling herself upward and glanced at Hanna. "What was it you were telling me about not having to be worried because you have your own sexy man?" She tried as hard as she could to look concerned, but she couldn't stop her lips from twitching upward. She was the exact opposite of the jealous type Especially when it came to Toby, who was the most loyal and devoted boyfriend imaginable, and Hanna, who had been her best friend for her entire life. And honestly, she wouldn't be so opposed to seeing Toby's abs.

"I've already _seen _Caleb's abs," she explained slowly as if she thought Spencer was stupid. "I've seen them a lot, and eh."

"Hey now!" Caleb had been relatively silent throughout this ab conversation, but now his face was dominated by a frustrated frown. "I have awesome abs!"

"Well then by all means prove it! Take your shirt off! We can have us an ab contest. Spencer and I will judge, and we promise to be impartial." She waved her hand in his direction as though to tell him to get to stripping.

Spencer was dying. She was literally dying. What was going on right now? She flopped on her side and clutched at her stomach, trying to breath between her hysterical giggles. Oh my God, sick Hanna was her favorite thing in the entire world.

"Spencer!"

Hanna's annoyed tone was enough to largely dissolve her laughter. She quickly wiped away the vestiges of her tears of mirth and pulled herself up into a sitting position. "What?"

"You spilled my soup!" Her frustrated hand pointed at a minuscule spot on her pillow.

Apparently Hanna forgot that Spencer was not an amateur when it came to the art of dealing with her illnesses. "Hanna, shut up! I am the most OCD person in the entire world and that wouldn't even bother me. But if it's so annoying I suppose I can go get you a napkin. Bear in mind my _leg is broken_ so it might take awhile and hurt a lot."

Typically Hanna could be made to see reason with a reality check and a small guilt trip. That formula worked nearly every time, but she certainly wasn't going to tell the boys. That lesson was best learned after dealing with a full glass of water or a bowl of soup being aimed at your head. They will learn in time.

Hanna shook her head with a wicked smirk, "No, I have a better idea."

Spencer couldn't hold back her smile. Science never failed her. Hanna's gaze turned back to Toby, who was awkwardly standing by the door. He was so shy when he was made the center of attention, which made teasing him really fun. Apparently Hanna had gotten that memo. "Toby! Your shirt is bothering me! Take it off so we can use it as a napkin."

She didn't really understand Hanna's obsession with seeing her boyfriend's abs, but she certainly couldn't blame her. Toby did have some marvelous abdominals. She turned to give Toby an encouraging grin. "I mean, it wouldn't bother me. I think that taking your shirt off could probably be considered a public service."

Toby shot her a look that was a cross between amused and betrayed, but any words that he might have spoken were cut off by Hanna's loud cheers. "Yeah! Girlfriend approval! You have no excuses now!"

"Um, well. Why don't I just go get you a napkin instead?" He asked with a delicious blush erupting across his cheeks. He was so adorably shy.

Hanna groaned in annoyance and threw a pillow in his direction. Toby sputtered in confusion. "What was that for?"

"You're being a party pooper!"

His forehead wrinkled in confusion. He opened his mouth to talk but snapped it shut again, clearly at a loss for words. Alright it was time to take pity on him. But seriously, what a good sport. He just took a pillow beating and being propositioned by her best friend. If she wasn't already one hundred percent positive that she loved this boy she would have known for sure in that moment. Anyone that could take her crazy friends in stride was definitely the one for her.

She turned on her butt and scooted across the bed until she was resting on the pillows next to Hanna. She leaned over to whisper conspiratorially in her hear. "I think we need to initiate Caleb in the art of taking care of you. Beg him to do something ridiculous and let's see if he'll do it." Hopefully she accomplished two things in one go, Hanna would leave poor, embarrassed Toby alone, and she would get to see Caleb sweat a bit.

Hanna grinned and nodded, tilting her head to the side to rest on Spencer's shoulder. "Caleb! I have a craving. And I'm pretty sure it's the fever talking. My mom always said you should feed a fever, and if it's craving something we better not test it. It might get angry." She stuck out her bottom lip and gave him the most pitiful stare that she could muster.

"What do you need?" He asked warily, shooting Spencer a suspicious glance.

Spencer just smiled at him innocently. As soon as he looked away she turned to Toby and winked so he knew that this was her doing. He smiled at her and took a seat at Hanna's desk chair.

"Anchovies! Lots and lots of anchovies. And vanilla ice cream. And baby carrots. Make sure they're organic because I don't want a bunch of nasty pesticides swimming around in my belly."

Caleb scratched his head and wrinkled his nose in poorly concealed disgust. "Like all at once? And pesticides are the nastiness that you're worried about?"

She nodded happily and dramatically smacked her lips, ignoring his sarcasm. "All at once. In the same bowl. Maybe some chocolate sauce on top."

He shot Spencer a desperate look, but Spencer just shrugged while frantically trying to hide her amusement. If he really brought all of that stuff up in one bowl she was going to lose it. Caleb sighed, "I'll be right back."

As soon as he walked out of the room Spencer turned and buried her head on top of Hanna's to conceal her laughter. "Oh my God, Han! He's really going to do it, and I don't want to be responsible for cleaning up your puke."

"You two are diabolical," Toby laughed and took Caleb's vacated spot. "Can I come this close, Hanna? Or are you just going to demand to see my abs again."

"Well, I still wouldn't be opposed," she trailed off with a grin. "But no, I suppose you can keep your shirt on, you lame-o."

Spencer stretched her arm out as far as she could and brushed her fingers over the back of his hand. He smiled and moved a little closer so they could intertwine their fingers together.

"No! No, no, no, no mucking up my bedroom with your adorableness. Stop being cute."

She laughed and used her other hand to grab Hanna's. "What's wrong Han, do you need some affection too?"

"Maybe," she whined and moved her head back to Spencer's shoulder without letting go of her hand. "My head hurts."

"Just close your eyes and relax. You'll feel better if you take a nap, maybe." She lightly squeezed Hanna's hand and turned to Toby with a smile. She was really glad that he had decided to come with her. After everything they had been through it physically hurt to be away from him for too long. It was irrational, but she needed to see him so that she knew that he was okay.

"Okay, Han you didn't have any anchovies, but I put some tuna in there. It should probably taste the same."

Spencer took her hands back and buried her face in them to muffle her laughter. He did it. He really, really did it! Even if he hadn't spoken she would have known that he was carrying the bowl of nastiness by the aroma that was reaching her nose.

She felt Hanna sit up straight. "Get out! Go!"

"Hanna..."

And suddenly Hanna was no longer able to keep up her annoyed facade. "Oh my God I can't believe you really thought that I wanted to eat that," she gasped out between her laughter. With the plot being officially out of the bag the entire room dissolved into hysterical laughter, with Hanna and Spencer hanging onto each other to remain upright.

It was official. Spencer could lose all of her material possessions, but as long as she had these people in her life she would be fine. She was so blessed when it came to her friends.


	14. Chapter 14

**THAT EPISODE OF PLL!? Oh holy crap I'm still on about it. And next weeks is going to be incredible! Who else is ready for Aria to finally see the obvious!? But Spencer looks like she's really struggling in it. I'm sure Troian will knock it out of the park, but it's still sad! Ahhh.**

**But can I just say, in the promo it looks like the girls are warning her toward the beginning of the episode. Obviously she'll have some doubts, but REALLY ARIA!? Are you really going to get on a SKI LIFT with the person your friends suspect as being -A before clearing that up!? REALLY?! You make sure someone ISN'T -A BEFORE you get on the stupid ski lift and in an inescapable freaking position!**

**Okay shout out to iluvspencerhastings for my 100th review! You guys are so incredible! The next chapter will be up this weekend or at 10 reviews. Whichever comes first. And the next chapter answers some questions that you will have by the time you finish this! My goal is to make this my most reviewed story, which means I need 25 more reviews all together! I think it can happen :)**

**And can I pimp out my other story one more time on here? Go read Unchained Melody! I am really proud of it, and the action is finally starting to pick up in it. You'll LOVE it if you like this story :).**

**OKAY. I love you guys for being so amazing! Happy reading! Sorry for the massive author's note.**

Chapter 14

TPOV

Sometimes you woke up and you just knew that it was going to be a terrible day. You just knew it. You didn't know why or how, but you knew that something was going to go horribly wrong.

First, last night had been the first night that Spencer had spent back at her own home. After everything that they had gone through with her father he was so incredibly uncomfortable letting her be anything further than arms length away. Last time that had happened she was kidnapped and held hostage. But he couldn't say anything without coming across as that annoying, clingy boyfriend.

And then he got to school and realized that he had forgotten about a History exam. Which he wouldn't have done had Spencer stayed with him again, because that was the only class that they had together. He completely winged it, and hopefully he didn't fail. He wasn't maniacal about his grades, but he still appreciated doing well.

None of that stuff was entirely awful, but they still had a lot of day left. He leaned back in his spot on their booth at the Apple Rose Grille and glanced at Spencer out of the corner of his eye. Her smile warmed his heart, and made him realize that today might not be so bad. Spencer was finally seeming like her normal self again, and he couldn't be more proud of her. So many people would have been irreparably damaged after dealing with everything she had gone through, but she was stronger than ever.

They had come to the Grille after school with Caleb, Hanna, and Aria, but he was being an awful friend at the moment. He couldn't focus on anything other than waiting for the other shoe to drop. Something was going to happen today, and it was going to be something he wouldn't like.

"...and then we took a sleazy cab into the city where we sought out prostitutes who could teach us their ways. They really liked that I was flexible enough to-"

Well that certainly got his attention. "Wait what?!"

"Oh man," Hanna laughed from across the table. "He starting paying attention again way too soon. I wanted to see where you were going with that."

Spencer winked at Hanna before turning back to Toby and kissing his cheek. "You spaced out there for a minute. Where were you?"

"I was thinking about how I might need a tutor," he trailed off, adding a seductive lilt to his words.

"Oh really now? I know someone who might be interested in the job." She laughed and reached for his hand under the table, intertwining their fingers together.

"Oh my God, someone pass me a barf bag. No one but these two could make school sound so freaking adorable." Hanna grabbed a curly fry off of her plate and tossed it in her direction.

"Hanna! If I can't find that fry you're going to have to pick through my hair like a monkey until you discover it." She groaned in protest and began to run her fingers through her mass of curls in search of the curly fry remnant.

Toby chuckled and grabbed both of her hands, moving them back down to her lap. His calloused fingers turned her around and worked their way through her hair until he found the food. "There, now you're french fry free."

She looked at him over her shoulder with a smile, but before she could speak they were distracted by a clicking noise and a bright flash.

"Aria!" Apparently Spencer knew her friends so well that she didn't even have to look to see who took the picture. But considering Aria was always carting around her camera, it was a pretty valid assumption.

"Sorry, not sorry. This is going in my scrapbook of adorable moments from my coupled up friends since I am alone, sad, and single. I will live vicariously through you all." She laughed and tucked her camera back into her back.

"Aria, a Lifetime worthy top secret affair with your hottie English teacher does not make for single. When you guys can finally be seen in public together you can fully expect us to be there to take semi-humiliating pictures of you." He was impressed by Hanna's ability to keep her voice so low. It wasn't a skill that he had previously seen from her.

He knew of Aria's illicit relationship with Mr. Fitz, and as much as he disapproved of the age gap he wasn't going to judge her. Sometimes the heart decided for you. If it had been up to him he never would have pursued Spencer. He wouldn't have thought that he had a chance with someone like her, but their hearts decided differently. He wouldn't stand in the way of anyone pursuing a happiness like the one he had found, no matter how unconventional the relationship. Thinking about a life without Spencer was just a painful thought. She had changed everything for him, and if Aria felt for Mr. Fitz half of what he felt for Spencer than it was worth it, despite the risks.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Spencer's soft voice murmured from just below his ear.

He really loved her voice. It was perfectly balanced between rasp and feminine softness. He could literally listen to her talk all day and not be bored. Her breath against his neck caused a rush of desire to flood his veins, and he bent down and softly joined their mouths together in a kiss. After just a moment he pulled away from her, not wanting Hanna to ruin the moment with her complaints about their affection. "I was thinking that you thought I was just flirting with you, but I'm not kidding. I really do need a tutor. Also, I kind of love you a lot."

His voice was huskier than normal, the words catching in his throat as he spoke them. He wanted to make every moment with Spencer count. So often you hear about couples becoming complacent in their relationship and not appreciating each other. He wouldn't let that happen to them, because he intended on telling Spencer how much he loved her every single day.

"Really? In what?" Academic talk always brought out her inquisitive side. Lucky for him she never minded helping him keep up. He was sure his grades wouldn't be half as good as they are if it weren't for her.

"History. I'm pretty sure that I failed that test today. Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, Russian tsars... They all run together in my head." He wasn't kidding either. History was bar none his worst subject. He always found science fascinating so he worked extra hard in it, and math was necessary for his carpentry. His work in math was more out of occupational necessity than anything, but he could always manage to get a B without much effort. But history? The dates, names, and places all ran together in his head until it was a giant pile of mush.

She pursed her lips and looked up at him with a frown. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have come over and worked with you after school yesterday!"

He snorted, taking her hand into his own. She was so small and so soft. He knew that she could largely take care of herself, and she had proven it again and again. But that didn't change his intense and innate desire to shield her from all harm. Before he met Spencer he couldn't imagine ever having someone that he would willingly put his life on the line for, but for her he would do it without a second though. "I wasn't going to interrupt your first night at home with your mom. You can just tutor me next time."

The frown was still present on her face, but it slowly tugged into a small smile. "Alright. But that means you have to get an A. I will sit and study with you all night."

"Deal," he laughed. He knew when the time came she would make him pour over books and flashcards for hours. He didn't mind though. She was cute when she got into a studying frenzy.

And without warning a cold chill passed over his body. That stupid feeling of dread was back. Something bad was going to happen today. He just knew it.

"Spencer?"

And there it was. There was no reason that Spencer's mom would be there if it weren't to tell her something unpleasant. Spencer sat up straight and turned around in alarm. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

"I- Honey I need you to come with me, okay?"

If he had to think of three words to describe Mrs. Hastings they would be poised, calm, and put together. But right now she was none of those things. Her face looked as though she were barely keeping her emotions together. Her hair, which was always impeccably styled, was messy with stray hairs coming out of her bun like a lion's mane. Whatever was going on was nothing good.

Spencer reached back to grab his hand without taking her eyes off of her mother. He quickly squeezed it, conveying as much comfort as he could through the contact. She lightly brushed her thumb across the back of his hand as she spoke. "Tell me what's going on."

"Not here, sweetheart." Mrs. Hastings' eyes shone with desperation, and even he could tell that she was barely keeping it together. "I promise I will explain everything, but not here. Just come with me? I will bring you back here to get your car later."

She paused, obviously not appreciating being left in the dark. But because she was Spencer she wasn't going to leave her mom standing there when she was so obviously upset. "Alright," she muttered reluctantly. She slid her hand out of Toby's, and used the table to pull herself up onto her feet.

As soon as her hand left his he felt the loss. "Spence, do you want me to come with you?" Mrs. Hastings looked like that was the last thing she wanted, but her eyes traveled to Spencer's face. She was obviously going to let her make her own decision.

"No, that's alright. I don't want to ruin your dinner. I'll call you later, okay?"

He definitely didn't like that answer. Something was very wrong, and he wanted to be there for her. "At least let me bring you your car back later?"

She hesitated before nodding shortly. "Treat my car like a baby, Cavanaugh. I'll text you whenever we're done doing whatever has her so upset. Maybe in an hour or so?" Her soft laugh marginally eased his tension.

They had rested her crutches on his side of the booth, so he reached behind him and passed them to her. His strong hands held them steady until he was sure that she was securely situated. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"I will." She leaned down and quickly kissed him before turning around and walking out the door with her mother.

As soon as they were out of sight Hanna glanced around the table in concern. "I've never seen Mama Hastings look so frazzled. I hope everything's okay."

"Maybe something happened at work? Sometimes if my mom had a really bad day at school she'll want to spend time with Mike and I," Aria offered up. "She's a lawyer, so I'm sure her bad days are even bigger."

Toby stopped listening after that. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew that it wasn't good. Hadn't that family been through enough lately? Obviously Spencer had gotten the physical brunt of it. He stopped that train of thought in its tracks, because if he started thinking about his girlfriend's bruised and bleeding face he was going to have a mental breakdown and hit something. But really, Mrs. Hastings may have not been physically hurt, but she lost her husband in all of this. For all of that man's faults, she loved him. It must have been horrible to watch someone you loved become a monster.

He vaguely heard Aria requesting that the waitress package Spencer's meal up in a to go box. That was a good idea. When he took her car back he could take her the food. She would probably be hungry because God knows that her mom didn't cook, and since it was after 5 pm their housekeeper was probably already off for the night.

"Hey, Toby."

Aria's lightly tapped his arm, trying to get his attention. He lifted his eyes to meet hers, but he didn't find that words were necessary. She knew that he was listening.

She smiled a little bit before continuing. "You know that Spencer's birthday is next Saturday right?"

He couldn't stop the offended frown from flashing across his face. Of course he knew when his girlfriend's birthday was. He wasn't one of those boyfriends that forgot significant dates. He had actually reminded Spencer of their anniversary last year. It didn't help that it fell around a month before finals, right when she had worked herself into a scholastic frenzy.

Aria laughed at the look on his face before continuing without waiting for him to replied. "Your face says it all. Well this is literally the first time I've seen you without Spencer basically ever, and we should talk. We were thinking about roadtripping out to their lake house for the weekend. The four of us, Em, more junk food than we ever would allow ourselves to eat, and aquatic adventures. What do you think?"

He nodded with a small smile. That sounded like something Spencer would love, and it was relatively pain free to plan. "I think she'll love that."

Before they had a chance to speak anymore his phone vibrated on the table. When he saw that it was from Spencer he was unsure of whether or not he should be nervous. This was much faster than the one hour that she estimated, but that didn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. Instead of worrying about what she was going to say he slid his phone open and read the text.

_"I need you."_

His chest constricted in fear. Spencer never sent texts that were that short. And he could remember very few times when she admitted that she needed help. He needed to go, and he needed to go right now. A shaky hand plunged into his wallet, threw a $20 on the table for his and Spencer's food, and walked as quickly as he could out of the restaurant. The panicked voices of their friends reached his distracted ears, but he didn't care. There was no way he was going to take the time to try to explain something that he didn't fully understand himself. What he did know what that Spencer admitted that she needed him, and there was nothing in the world that could keep him from being there for her.

Once he was situated in Spencer's car he quickly turned the key in the ignition and sped off much faster than was intelligent. If he got pulled over they were going to think that he was crazy because all he was going to be able to do was to mutter something unintelligible about an emergency. Fortunately luck was on his side with at least this. He managed to make it to the Hastings house without incident. He drove Spencer's car just inside the gate, hopped out, and sprinted to the kitchen door. His loud, thudding knocks echoed around him as he waited for someone to answer the door. Etiquette dictated that he wait for someone to come to the door to let him in, but politeness be damned. He would wait a few more seconds, but then he was just going to walk inside.

Right as he was about to just enter the house the door was opened by Mrs. Hastings. The woman's eyes were surprisingly blood shot as she moved aside to give Toby space to enter. "Toby, I'm glad you're here."

Under normal circumstances he would have stopped to comfort her or to figure out what was wrong, but he was too preoccupied with Spencer to conform to social niceties. "Spencer?" His voice sounded desperate and breathless to his own ears. Later he would probably be embarrassed about the impression he was giving off, but right now it just didn't matter.

"She's up in her room," she said slowly. As soon as he heard the word room his feet were carrying him in the direction of the stairs. It would only take him a second to get up there if he hurried. The quicker he was the sooner he would be able to take Spencer into his arms. "Toby, hold on."

He immediately halted at the base of the stairs and reluctantly turned around. The woman was finally approving of him. He didn't want to anger her so soon.

"I'll let her explain what's going on, but just... just try to be sensitive. It's a hard thing." She looked as though she'd have liked to have said more, but she couldn't without giving him details.

After shooting a quick nod in her direction he took the stairs two at a time until he found himself outside of her door. His fist lightly rapped on the door, and without waiting for her permission he cautiously opened the door. "Spencer?"

When he walked in she was collapsed on her bed in a heap, her broken leg hanging carelessly off the end. She needed to elevate that if it was ever going to heal correctly. As soon as he heard his voice she pulled herself up into a sitting position and immediately showed off her tear stained face.

His heart went out to her. The bed buckled down slightly underneath his weight. Once he was settled next to her she leaned over and sagged into him. His arms immediately wrapped around her thin frame in response. "Spence, what's wrong. Talk to me, please."

The noise of her mom coming upstairs traveled into the room, but she slowly passed by Spencer's room and presumably entered into her own. Spencer shook her head against his shoulder. "Toby," she whispered and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

Pain was much too prevalent in her tone for his liking. "Tell me what's wrong, baby. Tell me what I can do."

"I just- I don't know how to feel. I should be happy, but I'm not. I'm- I just don't know," her soft voice murmured into his neck. It was only because he had spent so much time with her that he was able to discern her quiet babble.

"Spencer please. You're starting to scare me. Tell me what's going on." A curtain of brown hair swept over her face as she adjusted against his arm. His nimble fingers softly worked their way through the soft curly. She would tell him what was wrong when she was ready, but until then he would just be there for her. He would hold her for as long as she needed him.

She let out a deep, shuddering breath and sat up to look at him. "My dad- He's dead."


	15. Chapter 15

**Shorter chapter, but I think that's okay! You guys are wonderful! I'm at 111 reviews now, which is more than I ever thought that I'd get for this story. And then to have a few of you review literally every single chapter?! I am so lucky to have the best readers EVER. EVERRRRR. The next chapter will PROBABLY be up Wednesday. It'll probably be done by Tuesday, but putting it up on PLL day seems like a TERRIBLE idea. Reviews make me update faster, if you don't know that by now. SIDENOTE I STILL CAN'T BREATH FROM THAT PROMO! Aria finally finds out, and she best watch how she talks to our Spencer!**

**Did you guys hear about Ravenswood? I feel so bad for Tyler, but I'm also hoping that means that there's hope for Haleb. IDK! But it's always sad when people lose their jobs. ANYWAYS, happy reading! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. My reviews have gone down quite a bit the last few chapters and I need to know what you guys think! If you hate it tell me so I can do it differently! Or, you know, if you love it you should let me know too :) Love you!**

**Guest reviewer, your review was so sweet that I can't help but respond! Thank you for reading! And Melissa will be in the next chapter :)**

Chapter 15

SPOV

Toby's arms tightened around her shaking frame as the words tumbled from her trembling lips. This display of emotion was embarrassing, but somehow that didn't matter while she had Toby's arms wrapped around her. He made everything feel better, even this screwed up situation. He was the one person in her life that she was sure would love her no matter what she said or did, so he was an ideal companion for this ill-timed breakdown.

She could practically feel the questions turning over in his brain, but she loved him for not asking them. There was no one in the world who knew her as well as Toby. Being interrogated was the last thing that she needed right now. All she needed was to be locked into his firm embrace. She would give him all the answers he wanted, just not right now.

Before he arrived she told herself that she wouldn't cry in front of him. Being sad didn't make any sense. This was the man who had physically abused her. His actions nearly led to the death of the person that she loved more than anything in the world. And even despite all of that he tried to hit her again. He pulled a _gun _out on her friends. And yet here she was, crying in the arms of her boyfriend. "I don't understand why I'm acting like this."

Toby paused, his hand moving frown her shoulders to her head. His long, limber fingers lightly stroked her hair. His other arm wrapped tightly around her waist and pulled her forward so that she was in his lap. He quickly nudged a pillow underneath her broken leg and pressed his lips to her forehead. "What can I do, Spencer?"

She shook her head and ran her nose along the line of his shoulder, taking in his supremely comforting scent. It was a smell that she associated with safety and security. Nothing could hurt her while she was wrapped up in his arms. Nothing but her own mind. And try as she might there was a nagging thought that she couldn't get out of her head. "Is- is this my fault?" She whispered into his neck.

His hand momentarily paused in her hair as he took in her words. A strangled gasp slipped out of his throat as he pulled her close. "Oh Spence," His slightly chapped lips lightly pressed kisses onto every part of her face that he could reach. "No Spencer. This isn't your fault. Not even a little bit. Why would you even think that?"

"I- My dad- he wouldn't have run if- if it wasn't for me." Logically she knew that it wasn't her fault. He was an adult, and he made the adult choice to run. But there was a little monster inside of her who kept bringing the thought to the front of her mind every chance that it got. She needed someone to tell her it wasn't her fault before she completely lost it.

Toby lightly grabbed her upper arms and carefully turned her around in his lap so that she was facing him. His hands moved from her arms to her cheeks. Spencer tried to avert her gaze, but his gentle hands were unyielding. They directed her eyes into his. "Spencer," he whispered her name in the way that only he could. It rolled off of his tongue like it was the most precious word that he had ever uttered. That alone was enough to make her heart leap in her chest. Why was he being so nice to her? "Spencer please, you have to see that this isn't your fault. Your dad did horrible things to you. He forced you to endure things that no one should ever have too. He ran because he was going to be held accountable for that. It wasn't your fault. It was his."

His thumbs tenderly brushed away each tear as it traveled down the side of her face. His eyes never left hers, and it wasn't the first time that she thought that those clear, blue orbs could see right through her. "Then why am I so upset?"

"Because he was your dad. No matter what he did he was still your dad," he paused and trailed his hand down her arm and grabbed her small hand in his own. The feeling of his large, calloused hand wrapped around her smooth fingers was nearly overwhelming. They fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, and she honestly wasn't sure how she ever got by without him.

"And Spence, you're sad because you're a good person. Death... death is always hard no matter the circumstances. It's always sad when a life is cut short. You're sad because you have a heart and you can empathize."

Toby released her completely for a minute, but before she could protest he wrapped his arms around her waist and gently pulled her down to the bed. He maneuvered the two of them so that her back was pressed into his firm, broad chest, and his arms were wrapped around her a security blanket. "Is your leg okay?" He asked her softly. His left hand slipped under the edge of of t-shirt and cupped around the curve of her waist, and his other hand found its way to her hair. The sensation of his fingers gently massaging into her scalp caused her eyelids to grow heavy.

"Mhmm," she mumbled and snuggled into his back.

"I- I do know how you're feeling Spence." His voice stumbled over the beginning of the sentence, but he ended his words strongly. "When my mom died I sat in my room and switched between angry and depressed so fast that I thought I was going crazy."

Oh God, his mom. How could she have forgotten about that? Here she was crying about her dad when he had an actual reason to cry. From everything that she'd been told it sounded like his mom was a wonderful woman. "I- If this is hard y-you don't have to stay." She put her hand behind her to haul herself up from her prone position on the bed.

His hand on her waist tightened marginally to keep her down. "No Spence, that's not what I'm saying. Loosing my mom was hard, but it doesn't sting like it used to. It's mostly just a dull ache. But what I'm saying is that what you're feeling is normal. I know it's not the same situation, and in a lot of ways yours is worse, b-"

That wasn't a line of thinking that she could allow to continue for another moment. It was just so categorically false. "No. Your mom loved you. She didn't want to leave you, her illness just got the best of her. My dad though, he couldn't have loved me and have done what he did to me."

"But he was still your dad, Spence. And my mom, what she did was selfish. I was a thirteen year old, and I needed my mom. I _needed _her. And she knew that. She knew my dad wouldn't treat me right, and she knew that there was no one else in my corner. But she still decided to go. It took me a long time to be able to even admit that to myself, but it's what I had to do to move on from this."

"I don't know if I can move on. I'm just so tired of everything. I don't want to think any more. I just want to sleep." She hated being so vulnerable, but she was too exhausted to put up a front. She never wanted to seem weak, but she didn't have it in her to pretend. Hopefully Toby wouldn't be too annoyed with her constant whining.

"Then sleep, baby. Close your eyes and relax. I'll be right here when you wake up."

"Do you promise?" Her voice broke pitifully, but her eyes were already drifting shut. She wasn't going to be able to stay awake regardless of his answer. But she knew for sure that she'd sleep better with his arms around her.

"I promise. I'm here for as long as you want me." His lips pressed against her hair, and his hand released her waist and lightly grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together with all the care in the world. "I love you Spencer. Rest now. You're safe and you're loved. I'll be right here the whole time."

"Forever," she murmured as her eyes finally drifted completely shut and the world around her faded away.

* * *

"But what happened?"

She was just teetering on the edge of consciousness. Right at the point that she wasn't sure if she was awake or not. A soft hand brushed across her arm to accompany the concerned words.

The soothing motion of fingers through her hair continued. "She hasn't told me yet. All I know is she's really upset. And I just had a feeling that a dose of Hanna humor might be exactly what she needed to cheer up."

He was perfect. Past Spencer would have debated the fallacy of using the word when no one was perfect, but present Spencer would just tell her past self to shove it. Because she had found the one exception in the entire world. He always knew exactly what she needed, even when she didn't know herself. Hanna was like a giant puppy; no one could be upset around her.

"Well, I mean I am pretty awesome."

And with that Spencer could no longer keep up her sleeping rouse. A long snort escaped her nose. She grabbed onto Toby's arms and used them to tiredly pull herself up. Naturally, once Toby realized what she was trying to do he did most of the work. She still continued to lean against him, having no desire to be any sizable distance from him. "Oh, press release everyone. Hanna Marin wins the modesty award of the century."

"It's not cocky if it's true!" Hanna laughed and flopped on the bed next to Spencer.

It was a good thing that Hanna was so adorable, because sometimes things like word definitions went right over her head. "I don't think that means what you think it means," she giggled. "You can look it up in my dictionary if you want." Her head gestured to the nightstand next to her bed.

"Spencer Jill Hastings, please do not tell me that you actually have a real live dictionary within arms reach of your bed?! Why? So you can look up words in your sleep? If I peek in there and there is actually a dictionary I'm going to lose it. I will laugh until I'm blue in the face and passed out on the floor."

Hanna glanced over at Toby with a small grin, "But you know a quick glance at a certain individuals abdominals might be enough to revive me."

Toby's blush from Hanna's comments was so intense that she could feel it on the places that their skin met. He was so incredibly adorable being all shy about something that was so true. Calling Hanna had been such a good idea on his part. There was still a white, hot bubble of despair in her belly, but her sassy best friend did a wonderful job of helping her suppress her less desirable emotions. "Han!" She laughed and flung a pillow at the girl's face. "What is with your obsession with seeing my boyfriend's abs?!"

"I don't know. I just bet they're nice," she shrugged and leaned over to peer in the nightstand drawer. "Oh my God! Spence, there really is a dictionary in here! This is taking your braniac status to a new level. Where's your wallet, I'm revoking your cool card and fining you $50. Speaking of money, I'm hungry. We should order a pizza!"

Spencer chuckled and leaned back into Toby, who responded immediately by wrapping his arms back around her waist. "Alright Han, I'll buy you pizza as long as we get spinach and artichoke hearts." She giggled as a flash of disgust passed over the blonde's face. "I'm sorry, but I'm having a craving I can't deny!"

Hanna sighed dramatically and pulled herself up off of the bed. "I suppose that's acceptable as long as we get breadsticks as well. Do you mind if I invite Caleb over?"

She shook her head no. "That's fine, just make sure you warn him about the wall of depression that he's liable to hit as soon as he enters the door. Don't want him to come unprepared or anything."

Hanna flashed her an unimpressed look. "If you're still depressed I'm clearly not doing my best friend duties well enough. I will be back in 5.7 minutes to continue on my maddening quest of cheering you up. Finish any cutesy disgusting stuff before I get back, because I don't want to have to gauge my eyeballs out."

As soon as Hanna was out of sight Spencer slowly turned around to look at Toby, and she couldn't help but lean forward to meet his mouth with her own. "I love you," she murmured with her lips millimeters away from her own. "I love you so much."

Toby looked as though he wanted nothing more than to continue to kiss Spencer, but in a show of great self control he reluctantly pulled away. Probably a good idea. Hanna was surprisingly punctual and would be back in just a moment. "Spence, are you okay? I'm sorry for inviting Hanna over, but I just... I just didn't know how to help you."

"No," her hand moved to his head, running her fingers through his soft hair. "No, you did the perfect thing. You let me cry when you first got here, made me take a nap and take care of myself, and then you called in Hanna for the comic relief. You couldn't have handled it any better. But um, I'm sorry too."

When Toby was confused he always got an adorable little worry line between his eyes. She couldn't resist reaching up and brushing her fingers across it. "You don't have to ask me why. I- Toby when you got with me this can't be what you were expecting. And I'm sorry that you always feel like you have to come to my rescue. I feel like I'm just ruining your life. If-"

He cut off her rambling apology by lightly pressing his hand over her mouth. "If you're done I'd like to take a second to convince you of how incredibly unnecessary your apology was. Spencer, you're the only good thing in my life. Never doubt that. Without you I would have friends, I wouldn't have someone who loves me unconditionally, and I would just be sitting lonely in my loft. And this may not have been what I was expecting, but I also wouldn't change anything besides you getting hurt. I love you and I love our relationship. And as for coming to your rescue, I will always be there for you. If you don't know that by now then I don't know what to tell you."

"Will... Will you come with me to my dad's funeral the day after tomorrow? I know he wasn't your favorite person, but I have to be there for my mom. I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle going alone." She would understand if he said no, but she certainly hoped that he would agree. It would make things much simpler.

Something flashed in his eyes, but he didn't elaborate on it. He gentle intertwined their fingers together and lifted her hand to brush his lips across her knuckles. "I would never abandon you when you need me, Spence. I love you."

Before she could profess her love for him the door to the bedroom flung open and Hanna strode back in with a pizza in hand. "I gave you guys much longer than five minutes. Are you decent?"

It was just then that she noticed that the girl's eyes were squeezed shut. "Open your eyes, you freak."

"Oh good," she sighed dramatically and began to dish out the pizza. "Caleb will be here soon."

Spencer's eyes traveled from Hanna to up to Toby. She was so lucky. What would she do without these people?


	16. Chapter 16

**Idk, I kind of like this chapter. But let's talk about reviewing for a second. I don't want to be like a review freak or anything, but I can't help feel like you guys are getting tired of this story since it went from 13 reviews per chapter to 3. Which is okay! I'm about to wrap it up anyways.**

**Unless the next chapter ends up being outrageously long it should be the last one! Which is SAD. I really liked this story a lot! I think it's my best one so far, and I'm proud of it! I'll save the real goodbye thing for the next chapter though. If this chapter gets 6 reviews I will post it on Friday. If not you'll get it on Monday. So it's up to you! :) Let me know what you think!**

**YOU GUYS ARE WONDERFUL!**

Chapter 16

SPOV

Black had always been a good color for her. It made her pale skin look incredible, and it brought out the lighter undertones in her brunette hair. She smoothed down the front of her dress and looked at her figure in the mirror. It was as good as it was going to get, she supposed.

"You look beautiful," the soft voice of her boyfriend murmured behind her.

She couldn't suppress a smile. His voice was just the calming effect that she needed. A second later his hands brushed down her arms, and in direct response she felt all of the tension evaporating from her body. With his steady hands on her arms she felt steady enough to turn around to look at him. Her smile grew marginally as she took in his suit clad figure. She loved Toby in everything and nothing, but there was something to be said for formally dressed Toby. He looked hot.

"Thanks for coming with me. I'm sure there are ways you'd rather be spending your day," she said softly.

Toby didn't respond immediately. His hands busied themselves supporting her and reaching for her crutches. Once the crutches were in place he brushed the back of his hand across her face. "Spence, if I haven't convinced you that the only place that I want to be is next to you by this point then I don't know what to tell you."

At his words her throat constricted with emotion. This day was going to be monstrously difficult, and she wasn't sure that she would be able to do it without him. She nodded at his declaration, but she didn't speak lest she start to cry before they even got to the funeral home.

"Let me help you downstairs, okay? And then we can go. Your mom and sister left already, but I told them I would get you there." He put his hand lightly on her back and lead her to the door.

When they reached the stairs he took her crutches in one hand and grabbed her arm with a steadying hand. She grasped the handrail with her other hand and awkwardly hopped down the stairs. Living on the second floor was incredibly inconvenient when you only had use of one of your legs. When the reached the living room he helped situate her under her crutches and held open the door for her.

She laughed and brushed her fingers over his arm as she maneuvered out the door. "How do people on crutches get by without you?"

He snorted and locked the door behind them. "Maybe I should pimp myself out as a personal assistant for the novice crutchateer."

"It caught on! I told you it would catch on!" She gave him a victorious smile and slid into the passenger seat of her SUV. It was really convenient that she had a decent sized vehicle right now or else it would be difficult to fit her leg inside.

Toby's hand reached for hers. He looked down at their fingers with a smile as he slowly laced them together. "I've heard you say it enough times now that I'm not sure that it counts."

"Oh it counts. It's all a part of my subtle plans for world domination," she said as seriously as she could and leaned her head back on the seat. Lugging around a heavy cast seriously hurt a lot, and she couldn't wait for the day that she could get the stupid thing cut off.

Toby laughed and drove off in the direction of the funeral home. It was a short drive, and part of her wished that it would laugh forever. A part of her was always going to feel happy when she was with Toby. He brought out the best parts of her. But once she was surrounded by people who would expect her to be devastated over the loss of her father any happiness she was currently feeling would be wiped away. She still didn't know how she felt about his death, which is definitely not the acceptable reaction when you lose a parent.

Much too soon the car stopped. Toby's thumb rubbed a light circle on the back of her hand. "If at any point this gets too much tell me and we'll leave. Don't worry about how it looks or what people will think. You're the only thing that matters right now. I know you want to support your mom, but it's not worth your mental health."

He was obviously still worried about her, and she was determined that after today she would be nothing but a perfect picture of strength. He had worried enough about her the past month than anyone needed to worry in three lifetimes. A break was much needed and well-deserved. "I'll let you know," she murmured and opened the door.

Before she could even get out of the car Toby was in front of her, helping her onto her crutches. How the hell did he get there so fast? "Alright superman," she laughed and started to slowly walk into the funeral home. Toby just chuckled and kept his hand lightly on her back. She hadn't needed him to catch her yet, but apparently they were both anticipating the moment that it happened.

They walked into the funeral home and were immediately confronted by hosts of people offering up their sincere apologies. She smiled tightly, but walked through the small crowd of her aunts and uncles to take a seat next to Melissa in the front row of the room in which the funeral would take place. Toby took her hand as she sat down and continued to rub soothing circles on the back of it.

"How are you doing, Spence?" Melissa whispered and put a hand on her arm.

"I- I guess that I'm alright. Are you okay? Is mom?" She sighed and gripped Toby's hand a little tighter. Thank God he was here, because if he wasn't she was sure that she would have already ran away to the bathroom to wait out this mess. He was the only thing that was giving her the strength to do what she knew that she needed to do.

"Mom's not doing that great. I know dad did some awful stuff to you, but- he was still her husband for a long time and it's got to be hard." Melissa gave her an apologetic frown, but it definitely wasn't necessary. She had been struggling with the same thing for days now.

She sighed and nodded. "How to justify the memories of the man we grew up with to the monster that he became."

Melissa smirked and lightly punched her sister on the arm. "Maybe I didn't get all of the smart genes after all."

"Oh that's so you, Melissa. Humble as always." She laughed quietly and stretched out her leg in front of her. The aching in her thigh was annoying her to the point that she couldn't not stretch her leg out. Hopefully no one would trip over it.

"Are you okay?" Of course Toby had noticed her smallest degree of discomfort. But really, he wouldn't be himself if he hadn't. He was observant as hell, especially when it came to her.

"I'm fine." She was largely telling the truth. Her leg hurt, and she would rather be anywhere else in the world. But largely she was doing better than she thought. The girls had offered to come, but she told them to stay home. Hanna wouldn't be able to pretend to feel sad about her father's passing, and Emily and Aria didn't fully understand because they weren't there. It was better this way.

Toby looked like he wanted to question her further, but her mother arrived then and slid into her seat next to Melissa. "Spencer, how are you doing?"

She smiled tightly at her mom. She wasn't trying to be rude, but she was sick of people asking her that. "I'm hanging in there."

"Ladies and gentlemen, could you please take your seats."

Spencer sighed and leaned back in her chair. She didn't want to seem weak, so she sat up straight, but she tightened her grasp on Toby's hand. She knew that he wasn't going anywhere, but she felt better with their hands tethered together. It was everything to her right now.

Toby could obviously feel her distress because he began to lightly run the fingers on his other hand up and down her arm. Bless him for being so in tuned to her. Not for the first time today she wondered what she would ever do without him.

She tuned out most of the funeral. Instead of listening to the priest speak bull shit platitudes about her deceased father she focused on the soothing feeling of Toby's hand rubbing her arm. He was always so light and gentle with her. He treated her like she was something worth protecting, and she was fairly sure that was the only reason she had gotten through this whole situation. Without Toby's gentle nature she would have had a much more difficult time believing that this wasn't her fault. She loved him so much. It was hard to believe how lucky she was in that regard. Some people waited their whole lives to find their soul mate, but she managed to find hers when she was seventeen years old.

"Would anyone care to speak on behalf of the deceased?"

She craned her neck around, and for a moment she felt strangely gratified as no one moved to the lectern. There were a lot of people here, but most were obviously present out of obligation. He was either family or he donated money to their cause or business. That was her dad. He never had a problem that he couldn't buy off.

Why was she being so negative? This was her father's _funeral. _He was so far from perfect, but he was still her dad. What was holding onto all of this anger doing for her? Nothing. She remembered someone once telling her that anger was like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die. It didn't work like that. Her dad was _dead. _ Staying angry wasn't going to do anything but hurt her. And he wasn't always a monster.

Before she knew what she was doing she stood up. It was a short walk to the podium, so she just grabbed one crutch. Toby's hand momentarily tightened around her own, but he slackened it so that she was able to slip it away. She balanced heavily on her crutch until she took her spot in front of the microphone. The look of dread on her mom's face was almost comical. Did she really think that she would embarrass her by spilling exactly what he did?

"Um hi. I don't know if you know me, but I'm Spencer Hastings. Peter Hastings was my father." She closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself down before continuing what she wanted to say. Her eyes stayed closed, because if she looked anyone in the eye she was likely to start crying, and she wasn't okay with public tears.

"My dad- he did a lot of things that weren't great. Sometimes he was mean. He yelled more often than not, and he was very hard on me. But that's not what I'm going to remember about him. It's not what I choose to remember. Instead I'm going to remember when I was six and decided that I was ready to ride my bike without training wheels. Instead of discouraging me he shrugged, took them off, and he sat there and coached me all afternoon. I'm sure he had more important things to do, but in that moment he made me feel like the most important person in the world."

Her eyes moved to her mother's face. The pinched look between her eyebrows and the tears in her eyes made her heart break a little bit. Veronica Hastings wasn't perfect, but she didn't deserve the pain of losing the person that you love. Especially like this. She didn't know what she would do if she lost Toby. "I'm going to remember the man who sat me down on my 14th birthday and told me how smart I was. He told me that I could accomplish anything and everything in the world as long as I applied myself. He was my dad, and you might think he was just saying that. But he wasn't. I could see in his eyes that he truly believed me to be capable of anything. And that belief inspired this unbelievable sense of confidence in me. If he believed that I could do anything than who was I to argue?"

She glanced at Melissa and was bolstered by the approval in her sister's eyes. They may have fought frequently, but she was always after her approval like any other little sister. "I'm going to remember the man who looked at my boyfriend," she glanced at Toby with a small smile. His eyes were shining, and his face was more relaxed than she had seen it in a long time. Apparently this was therapeutic for them all. "and told him that if he hurt me that he knew how to work the gun that he kept in his desk. Now, that was absolutely not a concern when it came to Toby, but it was touching to hear that promise of protection from the man that I always wanted to impress. My dad made mistakes. He made huge mistakes. But haven't we all? Who are we to judge him for not being perfect? I'm still working on the forgiveness thing, but I'm getting there. I challenge you all to follow my lead and remember the man for his best moments and not his worst."

She renewed her grip on the crutch and slowly walked back to her seat. As she was almost there the edge of the crutch got caught on a bump under the carpet and she tumbled toward the ground. Her shut tightly as she braced for impact, but it never came. Instead, two strong arms wrapped around her waist to keep her from hitting the ground. "I know that was going to happen at some point," Toby's amused voice murmured in her ear as he helped her into her chair.

The chair wasn't attached to the ground, so she scooted it as close to Toby as she could and rested her head on his shoulder. He immediately responded by wrapping both of his arms around her. She lifted one of her hands and held his arm. "I don't know whether to be embarrassed or impressed by your ninja-like reflexes."

He pressed his lips to the top of her head and didn't answer right away. "I'm just glad I was there to catch you."

She knew that he wasn't speaking figuratively. He really meant how he physically caught her right then. But those words were significant in more than one way. Toby had been her salvation throughout this entire mess. What would she have done had she not had him to go to that first night? Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes as she recalled the tender way that he had pressed the ice pack to her swollen wrist when he thought that she was asleep. Who else would have come to her rescue the day she had stupidly gone to her house alone? The look on his face would be forever be ingrained in her memory. Had she ever doubted that he loved her there was no way that she could after that. Love for her was practically pouring out of him.

And then their accident. People have told her that she was a hero, but she wasn't. She would have done that for a complete stranger. Helping Toby wasn't something that she thought twice about. And then the hostage situation. When he begged to take her place. He was so broken and upset, but he was also brave and determined to save her. God, she didn't know what she did to deserve someone like Toby, but she would spend every minute trying to live up to the incredible love that she received from this boy. "I love you," she whispered, not wanting to interrupt the people that were finally speaking.

"I love you too. And I'm proud of you." One of his hands moved from her waist to her hair. "That couldn't have been easy."

She knew immediately that he was talking about her speech for her dad. "It wasn't, but it was the right thing to do. I wouldn't want to be remembered for my worst mistake."

"His mistake was a bit more substantial, but I see your point. Are you okay?" His lips brushed across her temple.

The sensation of his lips against the most sensitive part of her head made her shiver, which he took for her being cold. He shrugged out of his suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. She was about to protest, but before the words could tumble out of her lips she realized that she actually was cold. There he goes knowing her better than she knew herself again. "I don't think so. Not yet. But I will be." And she meant it. As long as Toby was by her side she knew that she could do anything.


	17. Chapter 17

**This is it guys! It's much shorter than usual, but there's everything you need in there! Thank you so, so, so, so, so, so much for all of your kind words, support, and reviews! Writing this story has been my favorite experience with fanfiction thus far! You guys are all so wonderful! **

**Okay, so I got several reviews asking about a sequel, and I just don't think that it's in the cards for this particular story. I think that I got everything told. But I won't say 100% no. If I can think of a related plot I would consider coming back to this story.**

**Also, I'm 7 reviews away from having this be my most reviewed story, who wants to help me break that record? Haha I would love you all more than I already do! If not I still love you to the moon and back. THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**And if you're looking for something new to read check out my other ongoing story, Unchained Melody. It's a Spoby centric season 4 rewrite, and if you liked this I'm sure you'll love that! **

**Keep in mind for this chapter that I'm not a doctor. Any medical information you find below is courtesy of Dr. Google. Okay, so for the last time, READ AND REVIEW! I LOVE YOU 3 **

Chapter 17

SPOV

The cool evening air whipped around her as she carefully navigated her way through the overgrown cemetery. It felt like a storm was blowing in, and she knew that she needed to get this done before it started to rain. Even more than that, she needed to get back before Toby realized she was gone and panicked. Maybe she should have left him a note.

The edge of her crutch caught on a rock, and she was barely able to stay upright, but she luckily managed to stay on her feet. Her entire body froze as she saw the freshly dug grave. This wasn't something that she _wanted _to do. But she had to do it. If she didn't she wasn't going to be able to go on with her life. Being stuck in the past wasn't something that was acceptable for her. It was time to move forward.

As she sat down in the cool, damp grass she put her head on her knee and closed her eyes, remembering exactly why she had snuck out of the warm embrace of her boyfriend to visit her father's grave.

_"Spencer, I need to talk to you."_

_Spencer lifted her head from Toby's shoulder and met her mother's eyes. The brown orbs were full of poorly concealed angst. What could be wrong now?_

_"Spence, I'll just go wait upstairs for you." __Apparently he had seen the devastation in her mother's eyes as well because he gently pushed her off of him._

_As soon as he moved to stand up she tightly wrapped her fingers around his wrist. "No, stay."_

_He could have easily broken away, but he didn't. He wouldn't leave her when she needed him. There were few things that she was sure of, but she would bet everything in the world on Toby's devotion. "If you're sure," he said simply and sat back down._

_Once she was sure that he wasn't going anywhere she turned her worried gaze onto her mother. "Mom, what's going on?"_

_Mrs. Hastings took a deep breath and glanced down at her trembling hands. "I- I just debated whether or not to tell you this for the past several hours, but I think that you need to know. Perhaps it will help you to move on and heal."_

_And with that she knew that this had something to do with her father. Great. "__Just tell me." Her voice was substantially less warm than it typically was, but she was holding her emotions together fairly well._

_"I just got his autopsy report back. It took so long because they discovered something abnormal in the frontal lobe of his brain. After some tests they discovered that it was a small, benign tumor. I called to discuss it with the coroner, and one of the things that they told me was a tumor in this region of the brain, no matter how small, could have a serious impact on their personality. I'm not saying this is why your father hurt you, but it's something to consider. I just thought that you deserved to know."_

She sucked in a shaky breath and reached out to run her fingers over the edge of the tombstone. "Dad, I'm so mad at you. So mad at you."

Two shaky hands covered her watering eyes. She never thought that she would feel bad for him. He was sick? How could they have missed all of this? He hadn't looked well. When he made her go to Brookhaven with him she noticed how horrible he looked, but she just thought that he was nervous. She had always assumed that he was just being cruel. She had never imagined that he was unwell. Now she not only had to deal with her anger, but guilt was thrown in as well. "I'm sorry for not noticing in enough time to help you. But I'm not sure I'm ready to forgive you. I'm working really hard on it, but it's going to take time. And I hope you would understand."

The ground rustled behind her causing her muscles to tighten up in fear. Maybe coming out here alone, in the middle of the night hadn't been such a good idea. She hadn't even told anyone where she was going, so if she got murdered they were going to have a hell of a time finding her body.

"Spencer."

She relaxed at the soft voice of her boyfriend. She should have known that he would find her. He sat down next to her on the grass and gently grabbed her hand. "Spence, why didn't you wake me? I would have come with you."

As of right now she was starting to regret not bringing him along to begin with. There was something incredibly comforting about Toby's warm hand wrapped around her own. Not only did he make her feel safe in ways that no one else could, but he also gave her the strength that she needed. "I've been weak for long enough. I didn't want you to see me cry again."

His hand tightened around her own and he began to draw a small circle on the back of it with his thumb. "I know it's hard to see now, but you'll be okay. You're strong, Spencer. You've seen the worst of people, which makes you better appreciate the best all the more."

"That's a logical fallacy," she murmured. Having had enough of the distance she shifted so that her head was resting against his shoulder, and he responded immediately by wrapping both of his arms around her.

"You know, your freakish levels of intelligence make you a really hard person to comfort." The humor in his voice was obvious, and she couldn't help but smile. He was partially correct.

She wouldn't be comforted by logical fallacies and fluffy platitudes about life, but comforting her was fairly simple. She only needed one thing. "I don't need words," she sighed. "I just need you. Don't ever leave me, okay?"

"I think that if we can get through this we can get through anything. I'm not going anywhere. Are you ready to go, or do you need to say more?" His hand lightly stroked her hair and his lips pressed into her temple.

His light, gentle touches caused her brain to temporarily go fuzzy. "Um- no I'm okay. How did you even find me?"

He chuckled as he helped her up and onto her crutches. "Well I woke up about twenty minutes and had a near miss with a heart attack when I couldn't find you. I just thought about it for a minute, and in light of what your mom told us earlier I figured that this was the most logical place to look for you. But if you weren't here I was going to lose my mind. At least leave a note next time, okay? Or take your phone."

A quick pat of her pocket confirmed that she had indeed forgotten her phone. "Well, the phone was unintentional. I'm sorry for worrying you."

As soon as she finished talking her crutch slipped on the same stupid rock. Talk about a metaphor. This time she would have hit the ground had Toby not been there to catch her. The symbolism behind that wasn't lost for her. She knew that she could always count on Toby to catch her, both literally and figuratively. "Crutchateering still isn't your forte, huh? Maybe you should give up the pursuit considering you're getting that thing chopped off next week."

His sentence was punctuated by a pronounced rumbling from above. He glanced down at her then back up at the sky. "Alright Spence, we're going to have to move a little faster if you don't want to get rained on." He squatted down so that she had easy access to his back and reached for her crutches.

Usually she would have insisted on walking, but he had a good point. A squishy cast sounded like the exact opposite of a good time. She handed him the crutches and wrapped both her arms around his neck.

As he quickly walked them back to the car she couldn't help but reflect on everything that had happened. If you had asked the girl who had gone to tutor quiet, nerdy Toby Cavanaugh whether she would develop a relationship with the boy she would have thought that you were crazy. She never expected this. She never expected Toby to become her champion. Not in her wildest dreams had she anticipated forming a relationship so strong that he would be willing to so vehemently defend her to her abusive father. Never had she expected to allow herself to be so consumed by love. In the past she was a staunch feminist, and she took that to mean that she would always be perfectly content being on her own. That was no longer true, because she couldn't see herself surviving without Toby. But maybe that was another part of feminism, being able to admit when you found the person that you would be willing to change all of your preconceived notions for. This situation wasn't going to break her. She would come out of this stronger than ever with the love of her life by her side. And she was okay with that.

"Toby, I love you," she murmured into his neck.

"I love you too." His reply was automatic, but it was also dripping with sincerity. He meant every word that he said to her. Their love was a love that would endure everything, of that much she was sure. She loved him more than she could put into words, and nothing would ever change that.


End file.
